In 1995, THE MINISTRY OF Housing, Recreation and Consumer Services decided to look at the issue of community resistance to non-market housing. This resistance -NIMBY, as it is commonly called - greatly slows or prevents the development of needed affordable housing at the same time as it precludes neighbourhoods from being inclusive and welcoming to all British Columbians. It was quickly realized that there are very few resources for housing sponsors to use to understand and address NIMBY in British Columbia. As a result, the Minister asked five people, including a municipal councillor, a realtor and three representatives of non-profit societies, to form a special task group. Working with an independent consultant, the task group was asked to learn from previous experience in order to produce practical tools to assist those working to develop or acquire non-market housing. Their work has led to the publication of a series of guides. (excerpt from the document)