MARSHALL — Marshall City Council members were divided this week on whether backyard chickens should be allowed in the city. After council members discussed the proposal on Tuesday, a motion to approve a backyard chicken ordinance failed in a 3-2 vote.

Council members voting against the proposal said they had concerns ranging from questions about animal health, to a lack of support for chickens from Marshall residents.

The proposal to allow residents to keep backyard hens was included as part of some general updates to Marshall city ordinances on animals, said City Clerk Steven Anderson.

“We went back and cleaned up a bunch of that to get things to where they should be in how we’re currently operating,” Anderson said.

Some of the other ordinance updates would lift unnecessary restrictions on the kinds of animals allowed in Marshall. For example, the changes would officially allow people to keep common pets like hamsters or guinea pigs, and allow petting zoos in Marshall. Temporary petting zoos are already a common attraction at community events and festivals, Anderson said.

A proposed new section of the ordinance laid out rules for keeping chickens in city limits.

“With the backyard chickens, we were proposing to allow five hens, no roosters, no slaughter,” Anderson said. “(Chicken) coops and runs would be required in backyards, and there were specific setbacks that would also be in place.”

Council members brought up different reasons whether or not to support the proposed chicken ordinance. Council members John Alcorn and Craig Schafer said constituents told them they were not in favor of backyard chickens.

“I have had zero people give me feedback that they are in favor of it,” Alcorn said.

“I’m in total support of cleaning up the language in our animal ordinance, but I cannot support the backyard chickens,” Schafer said.

“I’m the opposite of Craig,” said council member James Lozinski. Lozinski said his daughter lived in a community that allowed backyard chickens. After seeing how raising backyard chickens worked in that community, he said, “It’s really not that big of a deal.”

“They don’t stink. They don’t cause trouble. And it gives us another opportunity to allow our citizens to use their yards the way they want,” Lozinski said. He added that the restrictions on chicken coops and placements were well thought out.

“I have family members who live in other towns who have chickens, and they don’t have any issues at all,” said council member See Moua-Leske. Moua-Leske said allowing backyard chickens would also be a positive thing for Marshall residents coming from places where keeping chickens is more common.

“We have a really diverse community here, and it’s going to be a lot more welcoming, especially for our immigrant population,” she said.

“My concerns are public health, animal health, property issues, and also the enforcement,” said Mayor Bob Byrnes. Minnesota is seeing an increase in avian influenza outbreaks, and there is a risk that wild birds can spread the virus to backyard chickens and other livestock, he said. Byrnes said he was also concerned that backyard chickens could lead to issues between neighbors.A motion to adopt the updated animal ordinances – including backyard chickens – failed in a 3-2 vote. Council members Schafer, Alcorn and Byrnes voted against the motion, while Lozinski and Moua-Leske supported it.

A second motion, to adopt the updated ordinances without the backyard chicken proposal, passed 4-1. Lozinski cast the vote against.