OCEANSIDE -- "In God We Trust" will soon grace the walls of City Council chambers and it will hang with a friend called "liberty." The council voted unanimously Wednesday to install the national motto under the city seal that hangs on the wall behind the council dais, and agreed at the urging of Councilwoman Esther Sanchez to include the word "liberty" as a show of support to the troops in Iraq.

To reach consensus, the council scrapped the original 3-foot-by-4-foot design that featured the motto arched over a spread eagle. Instead the word "liberty" will soon be installed in a semi-circle over the round city seal, and "In God We Trust" will scroll in a straight line beneath the seal.

"It's a constant reminder that there is something greater in this universe that we must serve," Councilman Jack Feller said of the motto. "It's a patriotic thing to do and the right thing to do."

Feller and the rest of council agreed readily to Sanchez's request that "liberty" be added to the motto, to the pleasure of the roughly 120 people who turned out.

"The idea here is 'In God We Trust,' " said Feller, who put the motto on the agenda. "I'm not going to fall on my sword over an eagle or the city seal."

The crowd grew more and more raucous as the discussion rolled on, finally culminating with a standing ovation with thunderous cheers and joyous shrieks as the council approved the motto. After the vote, residents could be seen high-fiving and hugging outside the council chambers.

However, not everyone endorsed the idea, as 13 of the 38 speakers spoke against putting up the motto, some vociferously.

"It hurts people who are not Christian," said Nadine Scott. "It does not belong on the … wall. I don't want you cramming your personal beliefs down my throat."

Another speaker, noting the religious tones in many of the speeches, said, "I didn't know I was coming to a prayer meeting."

But the majority of the speakers favored the motto, including 14-year-old Zac Beggs, who told the council to hang the words because they are the country's motto.

The phrase was adopted by Congress as the national motto in 1956.

"It's on our money. If anyone has a problem with that, I'm accepting donations," Zac said to a roar of applause.

The motto was originally proposed as a wall plaque that would cost about $6,500. The new design, which would feature lettering attached directly to the wall around the city seal, will not be paid for by the city.

Instead of public funds, the money will be donated to the city by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, through his Issa Family Foundation. Issa first offered to pay for the plaque in December 2002 after the council rejected placing the plaque in the council chambers.

In other business, the council gave the go-ahead for new zoning in the city's redevelopment area that will make way for a wine-tasting room in the downtown area.

Julie Jones, the president of Vine to Glass, wants to build a wine-tasting room downtown that will feature upscale wine tasting and some food operations. However, she told the council that current laws prevent such a business, because redevelopment rules do not allow for any new liquor licenses in the redevelopment area.

The council unanimously gave its staff direction to create a way to permit wine-tasting rooms in the area.

Contact staff writer Rob O'Dell at (760) 901-4067 or rodell@nctimes.com.