BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- The County Board of Supervisors has agreed to take back their marijuana dispensary ordinance and offer an alternative to be voted on in June.

The Board's decision was in response to a referendum petition a couple months ago that collected 26,000 signatures, opposing the county ordinance against medical marijuana dispensaries.

As a result, election code requires the board of supervisors to repeal a protested ordinance or put it on the June 5 ballot.

The board had four recommendations to choose from:
1) Repeal the protested ordinance
2) Put the protested ordinance on the June 5 ballot
3) Repeal the protested ordinance and put the alternative ordinance on the ballot
4) Put the protested and alternative ordinances on the June 5 ballot.

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County supervisors voted to go with option 3, repeal the protested ordinance and put the alternative on the June 5 ballot.

"Unfortunately the board is making an attempt but it is a one-sided and very narrow attempt to accommodate the medicinal cannabis community," said Jeff Jarvis of the Kern County Medicinal Collective.

County Supervisor Ray Watson was the only one to oppose the repeal. "I suggest we do leave things the way they are and let voters speak," said Watson.

He wanted to put the protested ordinance on the June 5 ballot, so that voters could have a shot at approving the outright ban.

The ordinance that was protested and repealed was passed in August and called for a complete ban of store front marijuana dispensaries and edible cannabis. County council has come up with an alternative ordinance, which will go on the June 5 ballot. That alternative is not a complete ban on dispensaries.

"We cannot affirmatively mandate how marijuana will be distributed in Kern County but we can say how it will not be distributed in Kern County," said County Supervisor Mike Maggard.

The alternative ordinance allows dispensaries to operate in medium and heavy industrial areas.

But they would have to be at least one mile away from schools, parks, churches, day care centers, and other dispensaries.

About 9,000 acres are in unincorporated Kern County that fit the restriction.

"I think to me it's always important we reduce impact to commercial areas, our neighbors, areas where schoolchildren will be walking to and from school, and I think an alternative ordinance will accomplish that goal," said County Supervisor Zack Scrivner.

"Placing one alternative measure on the ballot is best option for us to do," said Maggard.

"I understand their reasoning, wanting to get it out of areas where there's a lot of traffic by children but I'm not sure this was the way to do it," said medical marijuana supporter Linda Jarvis.

There would be operational restrictions like hours of operation, no smoking on premises, no selling of alcohol and no selling marijuana edibles.

Like the protested ordinance, edibles are still banned in the alternative ordinance.

"There's a large population of medical cannabis users that can only use cannabis in edible form. They cannot smoke, they have pulmonary diseases or issues they can't use it in that manner. And that's a real shame and travesty," said Jeff Jarvis.

If the ordinance is passed by voters on June 5 all the existing collectives and dispensaries -- which are about 40 -- would have to relocate within 10 days of the final count.