An ordinance requiring home owners to screen their garbage cans and bins from public view was rejected Tuesday night by the Richfield City Council.

On a 4-1 vote, the council reversed its 5-0 support for the ordinance June 28.

Since then, council members had toured neighborhoods, taken photos and heard from residents by phone, email and Facebook postings, most in opposition to the new ordinance. Residents John Kelly and Ken Severson attended the meeting Tuesday to speak against the proposal.

The ordinance was recommended by a Property Excellence Task Force made up of residents and members of the city council and school board. Its job was to study  neighborhood conditions and city ordinances, and then recommend changes that would improve community livability, according to notes prepared for the council.

"One of the task force' s recommendations was to amend the City ordinance to require property owners to screen garbage, refuse and
recyclables containers from public street view when not at curbside for collection," the notes said.

Councilman Fred Wroge, who championed the ordinance and cast the lone "yes" vote Tuesday night, was upset about the switched votes. He pointed to comments from a Realtor who served on the task force that garbage bins visible from the street hurt property values.

"I just think it's sad we want to clean up our community and can't," he told other council members before the final vote.

Other council members cited how far-reaching the ordinance would be -- estimates during the meeting were that 40-50 percent of homeowners would have to do something to screen their garbage cans -- difficulty faced by senior citizens to comply with the ordinance, and problems for home owners whose small lots would make screening difficult.