VISTA —— The Vista City Council has joined area residents and activist groups in advocating an outside review of Sheriff's Department policies and procedures in the wake of three deadly officer-involved shootings in late July and early August.

At Tuesday evening's regular meeting, council members also voted unanimously to send a letter to the county sheriff requesting an independent review of policies and procedures regarding the use of force.

The request comes on the heels of the shootings in Vista between July 28 and Aug. 1. Deputies shot and killed three Latino men in separate incidents that sparked community outrage and calls for increased oversight.

The Sheriff's Department and district attorney's office are conducting multiple investigations into the shootings that should be completed in three to six months.

The request letter was among a list of topics discussed at Tuesday's council meeting. Several of the topics were controversial, including the reopening of a temporary homeless shelter at 890 E. Vista Way. The council also announced the appointment of Darold Pieper as the city's attorney and approved plans for Mayor Morris Vance to join the Rancho Buena Vista Majors All Stars at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

Assistant City Manager Rick Dudley said that any external investigation requested would not include a criminal probe.

"It will be a review of the policies and procedures of the Sheriff's Department and how they conduct their own investigations, particularly regarding the use of force." Dudley said. "They would not look at any criminal actions because an outside investigation wouldn't have any jurisdiction over that."

Several people at the meeting spoke in favor of the request, with several advocating a local citizen's law enforcement review board and mandating a certain percentage of Spanish-speaking deputies in the local department. The 95,500 population of Vista is nearly 40 percent Latino.

"We're at the brink of chaos if the council doesn't give the Latino community what it wants, an independent citizen-elected board," said Tami Nino of Vista.

Vista resident Tomas Lucero expressed concern for the deputies involved as well as the families of the men who were killed, and said an independent investigation "would add objectivity to the investigations already in place."

Capt. Rob Ahern of the Vista Sheriff's station said the letter merely supports what the sheriff has already said.

Ahern said he was not aware of any city ever requesting a certain percentage of deputies speaking any language, but said the concept could be explored once the current contract for service expires and is renegotiated.

Reopening a subject that has divided the council in the past, council members voted 3-2 to approve a request from North County Solutions for Change to reopen a temporary shelter for homeless families. Councilmen Steve Gronke and Frank Lopez opposed it, while Councilman Bob Campbell, Mayor Morris Vance and Councilwoman Judy Ritter supported the motion.

The 45-bed shelter at 890 E. Vista Way closed in November after Solutions for Change opened a $6 million, 120-bed transitional shelter on California Avenue.

The city approved a permit for the permanent facility on the condition that the temporary shelter shut down. But Chris Megison, executive director of Solutions for Change, asked the council last fall about allowing the East Vista Way buildings to remain open.

Lopez and Campbell expressed concern that Megison had broken a promise in asking the council to reopen the shelter.

In addition to the regulatory agreement approved Tuesday, the shelter will require a special use permit, which must be approved by the city's Planning Commission in the coming months.

The shelter generated much discussion and many public comments, most of which came from about 30 people who came to the meeting to support Megison's plans.

"Some say we're a dumping ground, but I say we're a solutions ground," Megison said of his Vista shelter.

Most council members applauded the success of Megison's programs, though some said they felt the city has contributed more than its share of time and money to abating homelessness, and advocated a regional solution involving other cities.

"I have no problem with Mr. Megison's program, I guess I just have a problem with us taking it on," Gronke said.

When questioned about possible future facilities in Vista, Megison would not rule out seeking council support for such projects. Campbell, the apparent swing vote on the issue, requested that the approval of the temporary shelter include a provision that Megison could not approach the council about opening any additional facilities in the city during the 10-year operating agreement.

Other conditions of the proposed agreement include yearly financial and operating reviews, city approval of any management changes, 24-hour, on-site facility management, a no-loitering rule and a requirement that the facility maintain a minimum $60,000 operating reserve each year.

City officials said newly hired city attorney, Pieper, who now works for a private Los Angeles County firm and has worked for the cities of Carson and Monrovia, is likely to take the reins toward the end of September, filling the vacancy created in June when long-time City Attorney Wayne Dernetz retired. Assistant City Attorney Jon Stone will continue to fill the position in the interim.

The council pulled from the agenda the reinstatement of a campus police officer to be assigned to Rancho Buena Vista and Vista high schools. Dudley said the item was likely pulled because of a shortage of Sheriff's Department personnel and to investigate additional funding options.

The cost of three campus officers, who were first stationed on campuses in 1986, had been split by the city and school district, but the city and district pulled funding for a drug prevention officer in 2003 and cut the two remaining positions in 2004.

The cost to add one patrol deputy or an officer assigned specifically to the schools is $146,000 for the city and school district, or $73,000 each.

Contact staff writer Anne Riley-Katz at 631-6622 or ariley-katz@nctimes.com.