ESCONDIDO - The Escondido City Council reaffirmed its opposition to illegal immigration Wednesday night with a resolution that won't have any direct effect on city policy. But some council members said it is a sign of things to come.

The council approved the resolution opposing illegal immigration by a 3-2 vote, with Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler and Councilman Dick Daniels opposed.

Councilwoman Marie Waldron, who put the resolution on the agenda, said it shows that the council hasn't given up on its campaign against illegal immigration or on its ordinance prohibiting landlords from renting to illegal immigrants. That ordinance was passed in October, but was dropped by the city after hitting a legal roadblock.

"We are not giving up," Waldron said. "We are working on strengthening that ordinance, as well as a number of other things that have to do with illegal immigrants."

Councilmen Sam Abed and Ed Gallo also voted for the resolution, which cites several negative effects of illegal immigration, including that it "leads to higher crime rates, contributes to overcrowded classrooms and failing schools … and destroys our neighborhoods and diminishes our overall quality of life."

The resolution asks the federal government to take action to authorize local governments to make inquiries into people's immigration status and allow local governments to address the problems associated with illegal immigration themselves.

Pfeiler criticized Waldron for putting the resolution on the meeting agenda without any previous discussion at workshops or meetings. Pfeiler said the resolution doesn't give any specific action on which city staff members can act, and it oversteps the bounds of what city government is supposed to do.

"You have to bring something forward that makes sense, that the community can understand," Pfeiler said.

She said that if the council wants to address issues related to illegal immigration, such as overcrowding, it should do so by stepping up code enforcement on such things as garages illegally converted into living spaces.

Daniels, who is the newest member of the council after his election in November and who had said he supported the failed rental ordinance, voiced similar concerns.

He also said that putting the city's illegal immigration problems in the spotlight with the resolution, but without passing any measure to actually fix the problem, would only hurt the city's already damaged reputation.

"It simply adds one more negative report about our community," Daniels said. "I'm telling you, that's going to start to impact our ability to bring about economic development."

Escondido gained national attention in October when the council passed the ordinance prohibiting landlords from renting to illegal immigrants in a 3-2 vote, making it the first California city to do so. The American Civil Liberties Union, the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund and other civil rights organizations filed a lawsuit in November challenging the law's constitutionality.

Later that month, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the city from enforcing the ordinance. In December, Escondido city leaders dropped their support of the ordinance, saying the pending legal battle would be too costly.

Abed said Wednesday that not all the city's problems are attributable to illegal immigrants, but that they often have a negative impact on the community by driving without licenses or insurance and stressing public services such as hospitals. Abed, himself an immigrant, said he encourages legal immigrants to come to the city.

"My passion now is to help legal immigrants get a better life in Escondido," he said.

During the meeting, several people spoke to the council for and against the resolution, including several members of the San Diego Minutemen, an anti-illegal immigration group.

Bill Flores, a retired assistant San Diego County sheriff and spokesman for El Grupo, a coalition of Latino leaders, questioned the council's motives.

"What the council really wants to say is that there are too many brown faces in our city, in our streets, in our schools, in our hospitals, and we don't like it," Flores told the council.

In other business, the council:

• announced the new book for the city's "One City, One Book" program as "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros;

• approved a $58,320 public art consultant contract;

• approved a $123,975 service agreement to modernize cashier stations at City Hall;

• gave final approval to a zoning change and conditional-use permit allowing a housing development on land owned by Henry Avocado;

• approved the refinancing of lease revenue bonds for the California Center for the Arts, Escondido; and

• approved $10,000 in funding to assist the Escondido Veterans Memorial Building Committee with roof repairs to its building at 230 E. Park Ave.

- Contact staff writer Paul Eakins at (760) 740-5420 or peakins@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.