Nothing will happen quickly in the dispute over the $2.5 billion plan by California Pacific Medical Center to build a huge state-of-the art hospital on Cathedral Hill and upgrade its other medical facilities in the city.

Facing a continuing dispute over the project, including the fate of St. Luke's Hospital in the Mission District, the Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to delay any decision on the final environmental impact report until at least Nov. 20.

Sutter Health, which runs CPMC, has agreed to work with a mediator to settle its dispute with the city over exactly what assurances it will offer on the future of St. Luke's. An agreement between the city and Sutter fell apart in June when financial figures provided by the hospital group showed that St. Luke's could be closed well before the 20 years in the city's proposed agreement.

The supervisors approved the delay unanimously, calling the mediation offer a step in the right direction by the hospital group.

Although Sutter would have preferred the city to approve the plan's environmental report Tuesday, "the vote to delay gives both sides an opportunity to sit down and find a solution," said Sam Singer, a spokesman for the hospital group.

Sutter faces a 2020 state deadline to make its medical facilities earthquake-safe.