The city of Coquitlam appears to be headed down the same path as Port Moody in rejecting the draft Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) for Metro Vancouver.

This week, PoMo city council unanimously opposed the blueprint for regional growth citing transportation concerns and proposed population projections (see separate story).

And on Monday, Coquitlam city council is also expected to throw out the plan — but for different reasons.

Councillors who spoke with The Tri-City News yesterday say they are uncomfortable with the way the 30-year guide is written, how some language could be interpreted, the lack of definition for “regional significance” and the voting system by the Metro Vancouver board.

As well, they fear a loss of protection of green space and a larger control by the Metro Vancouver regional authority over municipal lands.

“There’s a transfer of power. No doubt about that,” Coun. Barrie Lynch said.

“It is unquestionably a move to a far more regulatory regime than what existed under the LRSP [Livable Region Strategic Plan],” Coun. Neal Nicholson added.

To date, all but three municipalities have made a decision about the draft RGS, with Port Moody being the sole opponent. Staff recommendations to Maple Ridge and North Vancouver district councils, which will meet early next week and before the Tuesday deadline at midnight, are to approve the RGS.

However, as of Thursday morning, Coquitlam councillors still had not seen planning GM Jim McIntyre’s report and were unsure what direction staff would be leading council on Monday. McIntyre has been involved with the draft RGS for several years at the Metro Vancouver level, having worked on the municipal planners’ advisory committee.

Mayor Richard Stewart said it’s likely he’ll vote against the RGS on Monday night “because it no longer achieves what it set out to do,” he said. “The purpose of a regional growth strategy is to apply consistent standards of growth management across the region and, now, we have a draft plan that is ripe with inconsistencies, by everyone’s admission.”

“What we have is stone soup,” Coun. Selina Robinson said. “That is, everybody brings what they got to the table and you have a melange. Sometimes that works, but it’s not a recipe. We haven’t all agreed to what the recipe is.”

Coun. Doug Macdonell said he’s concerned why so many Metro Van cities have okayed the plan. “I’m not so sure that they have read this thing because, if they did, I don’t think they would be so willing to give up as much as they’re willing to give up,” he said. “This is a 30-year document and there are so many exceptions and exemptions that other cities have asked for that, I think, it’s going to take the whole 30 years just to sort out all the issues. It’s ridiculous.”

Macdonell also questioned why Metro Vancouver has rushed the timetable to get the draft RGS adopted “when there are still so many questions to be answered.”

Last week, Coquitlam city council held a public input session on the draft RGS with the majority of speakers calling for a change in the land use designation for the Westwood Plateau Golf and Country Club lands from “general urban” to a more protected “conservation/recreation.”

Should Coquitlam reject the document on Monday, it’s anticipated the city would enter into a dispute resolution with the provincial government — at Coquitlam’s expense, a cost that Stewart said “is worth it. This is a pretty important document.”

Christine Delmarco, Metro Vancouver’s regional development manager, said two municipalities — Richmond and West Vancouver — have approved the draft RGS but also have attached conditions pertaining to land use.

The draft RGS is the Metro Vancouver growth plan for adding another 1.2 million residents by 2040.

A final ratification vote by the regional board — which includes Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart and Coun. Lou Sekora — is set for April 29. If passed, Metro Vancouver municipalities would have two years to pass regional context statements, showing how their OCPs align with the RGS.

Meanwhile, Bill Morrell, Metro Vancouver’s spokesperson, said the regional body has budgeted $60,000 in each of the last three years to promote and host public meetings on the draft RGS; however, he wasn’t able to immediately provide the total cost in staff time spent working on the plan.

jwarren@tricitynews.com