ESCONDIDO ---- The City Council unanimously agreed in principle Wednesday to track costs, staff time and the results of a proposed ban on renting to illegal immigrants, though several members disagreed on what information should be included in such reports.

Councilman Ron Newman said he wanted to "establish some kind of accountability process" for the proposed ban in order to keep tabs on its exact costs to implement and defend.

"It was not my intention to have controversy, and I'm not taking a side on this particular ordinance one way or the other," Newman said. "It's simply to establish a system we can use for regular review."

Newman proposed a tracking method that would regularly report on how many hours city staffers dedicate to enforcing the ban, the cost of fighting any legal challenges, and determining how many landlords are cited and illegal immigrants are removed from the city, if the ordinance is adopted.

City Hall plans to release the final ordinance Friday, with the council considering whether to adopt the resolution on Oct. 4. Newman's tracking process will be considered at the same time.

But a council majority made up of those in support of the proposed ban, said that although accountability is a laudable goal, it is wrong to single out one particular ordinance. And they said any tracking process should also measure any financial benefits to the city that would result from the law.

"The cost analysis that has been asked for is just one part of the equation," said Councilman Sam Abed, adding that he wanted city officials to provide the costs of illegal immigration and residential overcrowding in any review of the ban.

Regularly reviewing the costs of enforcing a rental ban would amount to a "dog and pony show" said Councilman Ed Gallo.

"What is the value of the safety and sovereignty of the United States of America?" asked Gallo. "Of the state of California? Of the city of Escondido? Can we put a cost on that?"

Councilwoman Marie Waldron, who originally proposed the ordinance, questioned the motives for adding an accountability measure to just one council resolution.

"This one being singled out, it raises a few eyebrows," Waldron said. "But my concern is that we have an effective ordinance."

Waldron, who is up for re-election, has had her own motives questioned, with many community members, as well as Newman, saying at council meetings that the ban was a political move to gain votes and divide the community.

Newman said he would support future efforts to establish a general review process for all council resolutions. But he said that the nature of a rental ban, and its impending apparent approval, warranted immediate action.

Escondido is one of nearly three dozen cities nationwide to consider similar laws for their community. If adopted, it would be the first California city to enact such a measure, and just the sixth in the country to ban illegal immigrants from renting housing.

Many of the other towns and cities also voted to prohibit business licenses for companies that hire undocumented workers, and to make English the official language of local government.

Before voting, council members heard from about a half-dozen speakers who, although generally against the proposed rental prohibition, encouraged the council to attach some accountability to the measure, which has regularly generated large crowds of supporters and detractors at recent council meetings.

Roy Garrett, an Escondido attorney and landlord who has promised the council several times that he will be the first to bring a lawsuit against any adopted rental ban, called the proposed ordinance "draconian in its effects."

Garrett said that the council should expand the notion of costs to include things such as lost sales tax revenue and other possible effects of any ban.

Kian Kaeni, an organizer with the Los Angeles chapter of People for the American Way, said attaching a review process to the law was simply good government.

"It's a huge mistake to pass an ordinance of this magnitude without knowing how it's working," Kaeni said.

-- Contact staff writer David Fried at (760) 740-5416 or dfried@nctimes.com.