Metro Vancouver's long-awaited regional growth strategy looks like it could be delayed again.

The province has declared that the regional district must seek a 60-day non-binding resolution process to resolve concerns with the of Coquitlam, which means the process could become a political hot potato ahead of municipal elections in November.

Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan, who had pushed to have binding arbitration to deal with the issue, warns the move could place the plan in jeopardy because it will be placed in the hands of new councils and board members. Even if Metro reaches agreement with Coquitlam, the plan must be sent back to municipalities for another 60-day approval process.

The regional growth strategy, which has been in the works for nine years, replaces the outdated Livable Regional plan and aims to curb urban sprawl, build density around transit hubs and protect agricultural land for local food production. It has already been adopted by the other 18 member municipalities, the Tsawwassen First Nation, TransLink and the Fraser Valley and Squamish-Lillooet regional districts.

The plan, which can be viewed here, is aimed at accommodating another one million people in Metro Vancouver by 2040, bringing the population to 3.4 million.

But Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart said the plan isn't consistent across the region and gives too much control to the Metro Vancouver board.

Metro Vancouver is required under provincial legislation to prepare a regional growth management strategy in collaboration with member municipalities.  It requires consensus from municipalities and TransLink. Municipalities that accept the plan will have a couple of years to develop a regional context statement, which shows how they plan to meet the goals and outcomes of the strategy, thus making it legally binding.

Chris DeMarco, Metro’s regional development division manager, said the new plan sets out much clearer goals than the old Livable Region plan and will allow the regional district to seek dispute resolution if a municipality doesn't follow the rules.

Do you live in Coquitlam? How do you feel about the plan?