Lin, along with Councilman Dean Heyenga, represent the city of Trinidad on the Management Plan Team, which includes other members from the Yurok Tribe, the Tsurai Ancestral Society (linear descendants of village residents) and the California Coastal Conservancy. The latter holds an easement over the property for public access and resource protection.

The team's mission is to draft a comprehensive management for the 12.5 acres of south-facing bluffs below the Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse, which includes the original location of the Tsurai Village.

Public input at Tuesday's meeting focused on alternatives for three pathways to Old Home or Indian Beach, possible transfer of the city-owned study area to the Yurok Tribe and how the plan to address vegetation within the study area.

Both Lin and Tsurai Ancestral Society member Kelly Lindgren, who also sits on the management plan team, said they were surprised by the number of people in support of transferring the property to the Yurok Tribe.

”Several people spoke in favor of transferring it to the Yurok Tribe,” Lindgren said.

Among those supporters were Trinidad Museum Society President Ned Simmons and board member Ron Johnson, Lin said.

One of the issues, Lin said, was that the city had responsibility for maintaining the property -- but cannot do anything with the property without Coastal Conservancy approval, due to the state agency's easements.

No one present at Tuesday's meeting spoke against transferring the land to the Yuroks. Should that proposal become part of the management plan, Lindgren said, the details haven't yet been worked out.

Other discussion focused on the management of the Wagner Street Trail, Parker Creek Trail and Axel Lindgren Memorial Trail with alternatives spanning from no action to preservation to restoration. Concerns were expressed about keeping the Wagner Street Trail open, acquiring easements from private property owners for the Parker Creek Trail and maintaining the Axel Lindgren Memorial Trail. The bottom portion of the latter washed out in the New Year's storm.

”Several people spoke for more aggressive restoration mostly of the Axel Lindgren Memorial Trail,” Lin said.

The problem with that alternative, he said, was it requires quite a bit of money, something that the proponents may not realize.

One of the more tense discussions of the evening, Lindgren said, dealt with how the management plan will cover vegetation management. Some had expressed concern that no mechanism was in place to protect ocean views.

Lindgren noted that the draft plan contains language dealing with vegetation management within the 12.5 acres but the focus is more on protecting the natural environment versus protection vistas.

Those who were not present at this week's meeting have until May 16 to submit comments on the draft management plan's alternatives, which may be downloaded from the city of Trinidad's website, www.trinidad.ca.gov.

Once all the public input is received and reviewed, the management plan team will draft the final plan for a 30-day public comment period by July with final completion scheduled for August or September.

”We're pretty close to a final draft,” Lin said.