Coquitlam city council patted itself on the back this week for "standing up" to Metro Vancouver on its Regional Growth Strategy (RGS), a 30-year document the city says is too vague and rife with inconsistencies.
Coquitlam was the last municipality to sign off on the RGS after it forced the regional authority into mediated talks about how Metro would handle future land-use decisions at the local level. Coquitlam's hold-out irked many Metro directors, some of whom feared the city would drag the issue into the November election race.
Mayor Richard Stewart said the RGS "isn't perfect" but Coquitlam's push to have reviews of it every five years earned the city points with business groups and other Metro municipalities, which can now bring forward amendments. The cities now have two years to formulate their regional context statements to bring their land use and population projections in line with Metro Vancouver's.
Stewart said he hopes the RGS acceptance, which was sent by letter to Metro chair Lois Jackson yesterday, will pave better relations between the two political agencies.
Coun. Doug Macdonell was the only councillor to vote against the RGS.
