An Illinois city council voted to end a 36-year-old ban on raising chickens within the city limits with strict regulations placed on their care.

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The Evanston City Council voted 6-3 to allow hens within the city limits while still maintaining a ban on roosters and instituting strict regulations on how the animals are to be housed and cared for, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.

"These animals will have to be within our ordinance, which is very specific," 6th Ward Ald. Mark Tendam said. "To say they're going to smell bad or make noise is just not reasonable, because I think they'll be so well provided for. No one really wants to risk losing them."

The ordinance had the backing of campaign group Evanston Backyard Chickens.

"The environment won out over fear," group member Ellen King said.

"People are afraid of change," she said. "After the first year, residents won't be concerned."

However, 1st Ward Ald. Judy Fiske, who voted against the ordinance, said chicken ownership is a "fad" and many do not recognize the health and nuisance risks involved.

"In the end, I would like you to think that this is an unnecessary ordinance," she said.