What was anticipated to be a majority vote on banning marijuana in Federal Way, coupled with a mayor veto, turned into yet another moratorium on marijuana-related businesses at the City Council meeting on Tuesday.

This is the second year-long temporary ban on recreational marijuana businesses and third overall moratorium on recreational marijuana the council has imposed since Initiative 502 passed in the state of Washington in November 2012.

But the unanimous vote on Tuesday wasn’t without obvious contention.

The reason for the moratorium?

Council bill No. 678 allows the city to see the effects of a legislative bill that prohibits cities and local jurisdictions from enforcing a moratorium or ban on recreational marijuana-related businesses unless they’re authorized by a public vote.

Currently, the bill — Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 2136 — has passed the House with 67 yeas and 28 nays. It was scheduled to be read in the Senate Ways and Means committee for first reading on April 14. And while the Legislative session is set to wrap up on April 26, many believe there will be a special session to follow. The bill also provides marijuana tax revenues for local jurisdictions and cities, which would be distributed based on retail sales and population but would cap off at $20 million annually and end on Jan. 1, 2022.

The moratorium would also allow the council to conduct an “advisory vote” among Federal Way citizens. That vote is non-binding, meaning the council could use it for informational purposes only, but it would be held during an election.

Council bill No. 678 proposed holding this advisory vote during the November 2015 general election, as historically more voters have turned out. City staff looked back throughout the years and noted an average of 20 percent more voter turnout during November, as opposed to the primary election in August. Also, it would reduce costs for putting a measure on the ballot if it was during the general election, city staff noted.

However, Councilwoman Kelly Maloney, a longtime opponent of recreational marijuana businesses in Federal Way, sought to change the timing of the advisory vote to August in a proposed amendment, which was seconded by Councilman Martin Moore.

“My preference for having an advisory vote in the August vote — I’ve experienced a great deal of divisiveness and the sooner we can get this to the voters, it’s better for the community overall,” Maloney said at the council meeting. “It allows for citizens to decide if they want this in Federal Way or not.”

Councilwoman Dini Duclos questioned Maloney’s amendment proposal and stated that more people turnout for the general election than the primary, so she would not be voting for Maloney’s amendment.

Maloney stated she spoke to King County Election representatives, who said they believed this primary election would have a higher turnout than expected and anticipated a 33 percent voter turnout. Maloney also said it might even be cheaper to have the vote in August.

“I also don’t think we should predicate our decision tonight on legislation that we don’t know will go through,” she said, adding that she thought it was ill-advised to make a decision on a House bill that wasn’t law yet.

Things heated up when Mayor Jim Ferrell said he had also spoken to the director of King County Elections, and she didn’t tell him about the increase of voters for the primary.

“Well, maybe you didn’t ask,” Maloney shot back.

Ferrell pointed out that nobody knew how many people were going to vote.

“Frankly, can I just say I am mystified?” Ferrell said to Maloney at the meeting. “I have never in 26 years being involved in public policy, I can’t believe you’re making this argument with a straight face that you don’t want up to 10,000 more people to vote on this. I literally cannot believe the words coming out of your mouth. I can’t believe it.”

Ferrell said he disagrees with the Attorney General’s opinion and interpretation of I-502, who stated a while back that he believed local jurisdictions and cities had the right to govern the laws surrounding zoning for marijuana-related businesses.

Ferrell’s rant was met with applause after he stated that “the people of the community have already voted by 53 percent.”

Two people submitted letters and more than 10 people testified on the issue.

After asking if she could finish what she was trying to say, Maloney said she cares very much about the public vote, which is why she suggested the council bring it before a vote of the people.

She said because the community is divided, she believed a sooner vote would unite instead of divide.

Councilman Bob Celski agreed with Maloney that an August poll of voters would end the divisiveness that was also clearly present within the council, let alone the community, sooner.

Just as the council voted on Maloney’s proposed amendment, Councilwoman Lydia Assefa-Dawson needed clarification — interrupting the roll call vote.

Once it was explained to her what would happen if the council did nothing — the current moratorium would cease to exist on May 6 and businesses could open up shop based on the Liquor Control Board’s 1,000-foot buffer rules — Assefa-Dawson became the swing vote the council needed to get the moratorium passed with a November general election advisory vote. Deputy Mayor Jeanne Burbidge, Council members Assefa-Dawson, Susan Honda and Duclos voted against the amendment while Council members Martin Moore, Celski and Maloney voted for it.

The year-long moratorium unanimously passed. According to city staff, the council has the authority to take action on whether they should allow marijuana-related business or ban them outright before the temporary ban expires in May 2016.

On April 7, the council passed 5-2 the first reading of an outright ban on marijuana-related businesses.

Had the council voted on the ban at the Tuesday council meeting, the mayor told the Mirror he would have considered a veto — the first in Federal Way’s history of having an elected mayor.