The Austin City Council voted 4-3 Monday to table a potential ordinance to raise chickens within city limits.

About 15 people showed up to the council’s work session in support of the ordinance, though council members and Mayor Tom Stiehm were hesitant to support an ordinance.

Brittany Perry, a local woman who has advocated for an ordinance to raise three to six hens, said she heard from many residents who didn’t know enough about raising chickens in Austin. Though the city prohibits keeping non-domestic animals within city limits, Perry said she had heard from several residents who already kept chickens in the city, as well as a few businesses who sold chicks.

“A lot of people didn’t know you can’t raise chickens in Austin,” she said.

She also told the council many concerns residents have with a potential ordinance can easily be taken care of through proper care.

Yet council members weren’t easily swayed. Council Member Steve King said the issue likely had “no ability to fly” with many Austin residents.

“It’s overwhelming, to me, what I’ve heard from people who are against this,” he said.

Council Members Roger Boughton and Judy Enright agreed as they said many residents have asked if the potential ordinance is a joke.

Yet other council members thought the issue bore more discussion. Council Members Michael Jordal, Janet Anderson and Jeremy Carolan voted against tabling the issue, while King, Enright, Boughton and Jeff Austin voted to set the issue aside until the city’s rental housing ordinance is in place.

Jordal said he’s heard overwhelming support for the ordinance from residents and hoped the city could discuss the issue more.

“I feel like we’re lagging years behind on this issue,” he said. “If we don’t do something now, we will do something in the future.”

Chicken ordinances have become a popular issue among Minnesota municipalities, with many communities enacting fowl policies in recent years. Albert Lea, for example, allows residents to keep 25 to 50 hens based on where chicken coops are placed on private properties.

Some communities have faced scrutiny for their decisions. The city of Farmington grappled with a potential chicken ordinance after the Farmington City Council voted the issue down in 2011. The decision drew controversy for two years before the city adopted a permit system in March of 2013 to allow residents to raise up to three hens.

Farmington city staff say five chicken permits have been issued thus far, with no complaints.