The Spokane Valley City Council his holding its regular meeting tonight at 6 p.m. in council chambers at City Hall, 11707 E. Sprague Ave. On the agenda are items dealing with the comprehensive plan update, the 2015 property tax ordinance and an informational update on the Fife marijuana ban. In July, the City Council adopted some restrictions to where marijuana businesses may be operated. For more details see tonight's agenda - note that this is an informational agenda item only.

Here's an update on the Fife ban: after marijuana became legal in Washington, a marijuana retailer wanted to open a recreational marijuana store in the town of Fife. In response, the Fife City Council adopted an ordinance banning the production, processing and retail sale of recreational and medical marijuana in Fife. The retailer challenged the new city ordinance in Pierce County Superior Court, which ruled that the ordinance is not expressly preempted by state law. Part of the ruling reads that Fife is prohibited from "imposing penalties for drug violations different than those specified by the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, but not prevented from enacting ordinances allowing imposition of penalties for zoning or business operation violations under its municipal code." Essentially this means a city may ban marijuana production, processing and retailing no matter what the state law says.