ST. LOUIS • The city’s Board of Public Service delayed a vote Tuesday on the petition seeking to revoke the Rev. Larry Rice’s license to operate a homeless shelter in downtown St. Louis.

The delay came after Jeff Rainford, chief of staff to Mayor Francis Slay, wrote a letter to the members of the board requesting that Rice and the residents seeking to revoke the shelter license negotiate a compromise.

“It is certainly better for everyone that a mutually agreeable resolution can be reached,” Rainford wrote.

He added: “My hope is that the parties can come to a consensus that will protect the interests of the downtown property owners and the residents while maintaining and improving services for the homeless.”

The board has considered the controversy for more than a year.