TEMECULA —— Concerns about day laborers loitering on Butterfield Stage Road near a school are prompting city leaders to look at ways to limit or prevent the job seekers from using the street to solicit work.

The City Council is set to consider restrictions at its June 28 meeting for the western part of Butterfield Stage Road, south of Rancho California Road, which is in the city's jurisdiction; the eastern side of the road is under the county's authority. Council members may also consider an ordinance prohibiting loitering near schools, which would cover the entire city, Councilman Mike Naggar said this week.

The consideration is in response to complaints brought to the council's attention by a representative of Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac School, which is just south of Rancho California and within the county area. Holly Wardrop, vice president of the school's parent-teacher group, said the number of day laborers frequenting the area of Butterfield Stage Road near the school has increased recently to more than 30.

As a result, school officials are concerned about the day laborers' proximity to the students, who range from preschoolers through eighth-graders, and about the day laborers' cars that block visibility of traffic for people leaving the school, Wardrop said. Parents, children and a teacher also have said they have seen some of the day laborers urinating publicly near the school, Wardrop added.

The workers often gather across the street or next to the school's property, though they usually stay away from the entrance, which is around the corner from Butterfield Stage Road on Avenida Lestonnac.

Wardrop suggested both short- and long-term solutions to the council Tuesday, including putting up "no parking" signs and creating a city ordinance banning loitering within a mile of schools. School officials are more concerned about the loitering than the type of individuals doing the loitering, she emphasized.

"We all tell our kids, 'Do not talk to strangers. Do not be around strangers.' Yet here we have them loitering around our school," Wardrop said Thursday.

The issue of day laborers is a familiar one to city leaders as the street-based jobseekers have gravitated to Butterfield Stage Road on and off for the past five years, with their numbers mushrooming in the past two years, Naggar said.

City officials have been monitoring a legal case involving a group of day laborers who sued Redondo Beach over an ordinance that prohibits them from seeking work from streets and sidewalks, Naggar said. If the ordinance holds up in court, the city should adopt a similar one, Naggar said.

The situation right now is not safe for any of the parties involved, especially with Butterfield Stage Road on its way to becoming a major road, Naggar said.

"You can't have cars pulling over to solicit laborers, nor can we have laborers go into the street to solicit work," Naggar said.

Councilman Ron Roberts also is concerned about the safety of the situation. He said Tuesday that he had e-mailed the city's staff recently, suggesting the street curbs be painted red, which would only allow parking only in the case of emergencies. He elaborated on that idea Thursday, saying he envisioned red curbs on Butterfield Stage Road from Rancho California for about 100 yards south to give drivers more time to see anyone crossing the street.

"A lot of people whip around that corner from Rancho California and if you have people crossing, they don't have a chance to get out of the way," Roberts said.

On Friday morning, a group of day laborers gathered near Rancho California on the sidewalk on the western side of Butterfield Stage Road. Some stood on the curb; others sat on the curb. Up the street, on the eastern side, a few more day laborers waited.

One of them, Jesus Hernandez, said he didn't know where he would go if he wasn't allowed on this stretch of Butterfield Stage Road. Another day laborer, George Velasquez, said they need another location from which to solicit work.

"I know the school is up here," Velasquez said. "We need another spot. Maybe up the hill (north of Rancho California) or somewhere else."

Any restrictions the city establishes will only solve half the problem as far as Butterfield Stage Road is concerned because only the west side of the street is in city boundaries. The east side —— and the school —— is in the county's jurisdiction. The county would have to follow suit to cover the other half of the street.

"We'll do whatever we need to cooperate with the city to ensure the safety of the students and faculty," Supervisor Jeff Stone said.

That begs the question of where the day laborers would be able to go to solicit work if they're not allowed to do so on certain streets. Stone suggests employment development centers, scattered throughout the county.

"(They) provide opportunities for these hard-working people to find jobs," Stone said. "Loitering in our neighborhoods is not conducive to public safety."

Contact staff writer Deirdre Newman at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2623, or dnewman@californian.com.