AUSTIN, Texas -- The City of Austin is clarifying rules it's considering for window screens. Property owners are not required under current law to have insect screens on their windows, the Code Department said. Proposed changes would only apply to houses and apartments without air conditioning.

However, they were required for about a decade beginning in the late 1970s for Austin homes that did not have air conditioning. The rules resurfaced last October when Austin City Council adopted parts of the 2015 International Property Maintenance Code. Those rules, some which took effect Apr. 1, require smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, as well as dictate the size and visibility of address numbers. However, Austin leaders voted to postpone a decision on insect screens until June 28 to allow time for community input.

"There's a lot of blank spaces [on the community survey]," said Isis Lopez of Austin Code Department. "We are also listening to the people that don't want insect screens at all."

The city posted that community on NextDoor this week. Lopez said, as of Friday afternoon, she's received feedback from more than 2,500 people.

"I am actually very excited to see all of this involvement and to see people care so much about the City of Austin," she said.

District 6 Council Member Jimmy Flannigan, representing far Northwest Austin, said he supports the community engagement effort, but he's concerned respondents have focused on the impact to themselves more than broader consequences.

"There's still an open question about the financial impact on the types of community members that can't afford air conditioning, if we want to put another regulation on top of that," he said.

The online survey, which you can access by clicking here, runs through the end of the month. Rules could be before the Austin City Council by late June.