OCEANSIDE - From the back of the room, a Fire Mountain homeowner had a few simple suggestions that would assuage his concerns about plans to dedicate more land at Eternal Hills Memorial Park for burials.

First, Don Lindsay, who lives on El Dean Road, which parallels the cemetery's western edge, suggested moving seven planned mausoleums away from Fire Mountain Drive.

"Just to be polite, stick them down in the bottom out of sight," Lindsay said, jabbing his finger at a large map on display in a meeting room at First Presbyterian Church on Tuesday evening.

Lindsay, who said he walks his dog on an undeveloped portion of the cemetery's 130-acre property at El Camino Real and Fire Mountain Drive, noted that the site slopes to the north, away from public roads and private property. He, and many others who spoke, noted that if the buildings were moved far enough north, they would not be visible from Fire Mountain Road.

"The lower you put them, the less people can see them," he said.

Though Eternal Hills owns 130 acres, it is currently using only 44. Cemetery officials say they need approval from the city to use 24 more of the acres they already own for burial plots and mausoleums, which would house cremated remains. Cemetery officials say using more acres for burials would extend the cemetery's life 20 to 30 years. Officials say that without the additional acreage, coastal North County's only large public burial site would run out of space in two years.

Others who spoke noted that the cemetery's proposed development plan, as outlined in an environmental impact report, would put several mausoleum buildings on a half acre of land where archeologists have discovered American Indian remains.

Mel Vernon, of the San Luis Rey Band of Luiseno Indians, said he would like to see the site preserved.

"We don't want to lose our cultural site. We like it as it is," Vernon said.

Project consultant Ann Gunter of the Lightfoot Planning Group, hired by the cemetery's owners to help create the expansion plans and shepherd them through the city approval process, said that the owner plans to restore more than 11 acres of coastal sage brush habitat and set aside about 30 additional acres of existing habitat to make up for developing the site.

After many in the audience indicated they did not agree with the idea of trading an archeological site for land elsewhere on the cemetery's property, Lindsay suggested his own solution.

"Take the archeological site and make it part of your cemetery," he said. "Make it a wonderful place that people can visit within your cemetery."

Residents said they did not mind seeing the cemetery as they drive down Fire Mountain Drive. But many questioned plans to plant trees and other plants between the public drive and the cemetery. They worried that doing so would present a wall of plants that would keep them from seeing the surrounding countryside.

Chuck McDonell, who lives on Fire Mountain Drive, suggested that the cemetery would be much better off developing an eastern portion of its property along El Camino Real.

"That would eliminate all of the concerns that everybody is talking about here tonight," he said.

But Gunter replied that the city has designated the El Camino Real portion of the property as a "wildlife corridor."

Not all of the public comments were negative.

Ann Mortland, a Fire Mountain resident for years, reminded her neighbors that they are much better off with a cemetery next door than they would be with a large residential development like the looming condominium project nearly finished at Vista Way and Rancho Del Oro Drive.

"I think we have literally been so blessed," Mortland said.

After the meeting Debbie Allen, manager of Eternal Hills, said the team of consultants working on the expansion plan will huddle and try to find a way to address all of the community's concerns. She did not say whether moving the expansion to the east along El Camino Real would be pursued.

"We have to find a balance, that's what we have to do," Allen said.

- Contact staff writer Paul Sisson at (760) 901-4087 or psisson@nctimes.com.