The members of Clare County Council have been told they must adopt the revamped Clare County Development Plan by next Monday.
The warning from the council chairman, Mr Sean Hillery (FF), came after councillors again failed to adopt the variation of the 1999 plan at a special council meeting at the weekend.
Mr Hillery agreed the matter could be adjourned after a 2-1/2 hour meeting which failed to resolve differences. He told members that the Minister for the Environment was "not going to let us do what we like".
Last July the councillors requested that the plan, which contains the contentious general ban on "non-locals" building homes in the open countryside, be overhauled in response to a significant rise in planning refusals throughout the county.
In the new draft document the ban on non-locals has been greatly relaxed.
In response to criticism from Clare's chief planning official, the county manager, Mr Willie Moloney, has removed the contentious provision that "in exceptional circumstances, the planning authority may grant a permission even though the decision would not accord with other policy statements".
In a report circulated to councillors, Mr Moloney said that, on reflection, the proposals he put forward "would benefit from being reconsidered".
