The Moab City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance that allows city residents in residential zones and at single-family homes in commercial zones to keep laying hens on their property. The 3-2 council vote approving the measure took less than 10 minutes, but the ordinance did incur one major change.

Council members Sarah Bauman and Kyle Bailey voted in favor of the ordinance, and members Jeff Davis and Gregg Stucki opposed. Moab Mayor Dave Sakrison cast the deciding vote to approve. Council member Rob Sweeten did not attend Tuesday’s meeting.

According to a provision inserted into the ordinance by city council members, all chicken owners will be required to obtain a permit, regardless of whether they have one or a dozen hens. Twelve hens is the allowed maximum under the new ordinance.

As in previous drafts, the ordinance requires a chicken coop that must be located at least 15 feet from other residences, and at least four square feet per laying hen. A hen yard, at least 10 square feet, is also required. Eggs are only meant for personal use, and raising roosters is prohibited. The ordinance becomes effective immediately.

From the time planning director Greg Reinhart first drafted the ordinance from a proposal submitted by local residents Sue Phillips and Jennifer Sadoff, the proposal stated that people could have a certain number of chickens without a permit, while a larger number of hens would require a permit. When recommending the ordinance last week, the Moab City Planning Commission also recommended the document allow up to six hens without a permit and up to 12 with one.

At Tuesday’s meeting, however, city council member Kyle Bailey said he’d “like to see a permit for six [hens].”

Fellow council member Sarah Bauman also favored the idea, but council member Gregg Stucki said he opposed requiring permits for smaller numbers of hens. Originally, Stucki had seconded a motion by Bauman to pass the ordinance as it was recommended by the planning commission. When the issue of permits was brought up, however, he rescinded his second.

“I like the idea that people can have some chickens, and they don’t need permission from the city,” Stucki said, adding that if residents want a high number, then a permit seems appropriate.

Bauman remained firm in her support of the permits and amended her motion to also state that permits should be renewed every two years, but that they also should be free.

Without voicing his support or opposition to the ordinance, council member Jeff Davis moved to have it tabled until the meeting on April 14, when both he and council member Rob Sweeten would be present. But no other council member present the motion.

The council vote capped several months of discussion in the community between those who supported raising hens in Moab and those who opposed. While the majority of city residents who attended public meetings voiced support for the ordinance, citing health, financial and sustainability reasons, there was also a vocal minority. Those in opposition cited worries about the cleanliness of coops, care of chickens, birds raised by renters and the city’s ability to enforce the ordinance’s rules.