As the state eased restrictions on marijuana licensing and opened a new round of applications for medical marijuana facilities applying for a state license to open as a retail store, the City of Renton last month passed an emergency ordinance limiting to five the total number of stores within the city.

According to City Attorney Larry Warren, the city received a letter from the state Liquor and Cannabis Board announcing their plans to lift the limit on the number of stores within a municipality, prompting action from the city.

“We were all a little surprised the Liquor Control Board took all of the restrictions off,” Council President Ed Prince said this week.

“So we rushed our number through, five,” Warren said.

Previously, Renton was limited by the state to three recreational marijuana stores. Warren and Prince both said the number five would keep things near their current level, but allow for some of the medical dispensaries operating in town to apply for a legal license.

“Everyone’s recreational now,” Warren said.

There are currently two recreational stores open in Renton with a third recently receiving a license to open.

The council passed the ordinance at their Oct. 5 meeting.

The change in state policy is in response to the Cannabis Patient Protection Act, or SB5052, passed this year to bring the medical marijuana side into alliance with the recreational side, including licensing.

According to a Sept. 23 press release from the LCB, the state agency began accepting applications for new retail licenses on Oct. 12, with a priority given to existing medical outlets. All medical marijuana dispensaries must be licensed by July 1, 2016, or face closure.

All businesses in Renton will also have to follow city zoning codes that limit the locations within the city in which marijuana retailers may open.

Warren again reiterated that the city does not currently consider any medical marijuana dispensaries to be legal business in the city. However, the city has said it does not plan to go around closing medical dispensaries, instead hoping they go through the process to get one of the newly available state licenses.

“We’re reacting as quickly as possible to get control of the situation locally,” Warren said.

Prince also said that Renton voters overwhelmingly approved legalization so the council wants to make sure that residents get what they voted for.

“We’re trying to do everything as best we possibly can on this issue,” Prince said, adding that this is really a state or federal issue. “Cities are trapped in the middle.”