When does an election not decide an outcome? Several months ago that seemed like a much simpler question.

In the near future, the Federal Way City Council will have to decide whether or not to allow the sale of marijuana, with some guidelines, or ban it outright.

Statewide 53 percent of our voters approved the legalization, taxation and sale of marijuana. Here in Federal Way the results were the same, with a majority voting in favor of legalization. There was some controversy prior to the election as previous city leaders expressed concern about marijuana sales in the city.

But after the election, supporters thought the controversy would be behind them. The state followed the election with a long process to identify who would be awarded licenses for marijuana sales and it was assumed that cities would guide the location, distribution and production through zoning codes.

The Federal Way City Council passed a moratorium last fall to give city staff time to review codes and make a recommendation.

But then the city of Fife decided to ban the sale of marijuana outright, rather than provide stricter zoning laws as most observers would have expected. Other cities followed suit after a Pierce Country judge ruled that Fife was within its rights. Courts have typically given cities wide latitude in controversial siting issues, such as liquor stores, strip clubs and pornography shops, to zone their jurisdictions in a manner that protects communities’ standards by isolating certain businesses away from schools, churches and residential areas.

But outright bans on a particular type of business, just because it might be offensive to some community members, has not been viewed as favorably by the courts. The state Supreme Court will make the final decision but that may not be until next year. And legislative intervention on anything controversial in the 2015 session starting in January seems unlikely.

In Federal Way, Mayor Jim Ferrell and his administrative staff recommended approval of the marijuana business to the city Planning Commission, along with some rules to tighten and guide the process. Both former Mayor Skip Priest and Ferrell, prior to his election as mayor, had expressed concern a few years ago about the crime potential for marijuana facilities. Since Ferrell is a former King County prosecutor, political observers were interested to see what policy position his administration would take. Would he follow the public vote, which he did, or propose a ban?

But then things got complicated. The Planning Commission voted 5-1 against the administration’s proposal and recommended to the City Council a ban on marijuana.

Now, legal and political questions have become intertwined as pro-marijuana forces claim foul. They say the voters have spoken and it feels like the Planning Commission is trying to overturn the election. Marijuana proponents also point out that they followed the rules and should be treated like any other business trying to open up in town.

Planning Commissioners, and others, say there are too many unknowns about community impacts of legalized sale of marijuana to approve them at this time.

And in the middle sits the City Council.

Some Council members lean toward following the public vote. Others believe that even though the public voted in favor of the legalization of marijuana, they were confused about whether or not the city would get some of the tax money, and they call into question the legitimacy of the vote. Still others are likely pleased with the Planning Commission position as it gives them political cover to oppose implementing marijuana sales, but use the argument that the Council should be supporting its citizen advisory boards.

And right beneath the surface is next year’s city elections where seats held by Council members Dini Duclos, Susan Honda, Lydia Assefa-Dawson and Bob Celski will be up for reelection. Duclos may not run, but the others are likely to be candidates. And lastly, will Ferrell be a strong advocate in support of his administration’s position and the voters, or will he defer to the Council?

Where do you stand? Shouldn’t your Mayor and city council follow the voters’ direction as the last word? Or do you expect them to reflect their own judgment rather than simply mirror public opinion?

Federal Way resident Bob Roegner is a former mayor of Auburn. Contact him at bjroegner@comcast.net.