City Council OKs Study of Border Airport : Transportation: While not overly enthused by it, members say the ‘TwinPorts’ binational proposal may be the best hope.

Calling it their “preferred option,” San Diego City Council members Tuesday gave the go-ahead to study the concept of a binational airport straddling Otay Mesa and Tijuana, despite frustrating memories of earlier airport studies that amounted to nothing.

The council approved a resolution that calls for the first comprehensive examination of the “TwinPorts” proposal, which includes construction of an international airport that would share runways and a control tower with Tijuana’s existing airport.

Specifically, the council asked city staff members to study the noise and air quality impacts of planes landing at the airport and to begin work with the Mexican government to get the project approved.

Beyond that, the council agreed it will seek the Federal Aviation Administration’s help in financing a master plan, the in-depth blueprint necessary to examine all aspects of an airport’s construction and operations before it can be federally approved.

“I support this as far as it goes,” said Councilman Tom Behr, whose recent campaign for office included a pledge to move forward with an alternative to Lindbergh Field, whose expansion possibilities are limited. “We need to move on with a concept and see if it’s viable or not.”

Council members said they could not work up much enthusiasm for the binational idea, given the past disappointments in trying to solve the airport problem, but agreed that TwinPorts may be the only hope.

“Of all the ideas I’ve seen, it’s the closest to being acceptable to the people of San Diego,” Councilwoman Judy McCarty said. “Conceptually, it’s my favorite, but I want to be careful we look at all the details.”

Under the TwinPorts proposal, put forth by Councilman Ron Roberts, San Diego would build a 12,000-foot runway and terminals opposite Rodriguez Field in Tijuana. While the two airports would share a runway, both countries would maintain separate terminals, customs checkpoints, immigration, agriculture and other facilities.

The project would cost $1.5 billion to $2 billion, about 35% of which could be paid for with federal funds, Roberts said. The remainder could be offset by the sale of Brown Field in Otay Mesa, which would be closed and its operations transferred to the binational airport, he said.

Deputy Mayor Bob Filner, the only council member to vote against the resolution moving forward with the concept, said studying the proposal is a waste of time and money because the Mexican government is highly unlikely to agree to runway-sharing.

“How many binational airports are there?” he asked. “One. It’s at the border of France and Switzerland. The reason there’s just one is that it’s difficult, if not impossible, for a nation to put a transportation hub under the control of another nation.”

Filner said San Diego area congressmen are opposed to the idea, as are Mexican government officials he has spoken with. He predicted an endless stream of “discussions, delegations and committees” that will head nowhere.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Filner took exception to what he called “every misstatement and every exaggeration” that Roberts has made about the airport proposal, but he did not elaborate.

For his part, Roberts said Mexican officials are becoming more receptive to the idea, which has been endorsed by representatives of the Airport Pilots Assn. and the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce.

Studying the implications of a binational airport allows the council to accept or reject the concept once and for all, Roberts said. For the first time, it narrows the project to a specific location, he said, “and that’s a big difference from where we are today.”

But Filner said speculation about what may happen on Otay Mesa will paralyze development in the area, which has long been targeted for a mix of affordable housing and manufacturing businesses for unskilled and semi-skilled workers.

Roberts has countered that construction of an airport in the area would create hundreds of new jobs and spark development.

The debate over what to do with Lindbergh Field has consumed San Diego politicians since the 1960s, when officials realized that the facility could not be expanded. Although council members agreed that a second airport was necessary, no faction has been able to decide on exactly where it should be located.

Filner, for example, favors either an out-of-county regional airport, perhaps at George Air Force Base in San Bernardino County, or discussing with Navy and Marine commanders the possibility of using Miramar Naval Air Station or Camp Pendleton as a site.

“The thought that negotiating with a foreign country is easier than dealing with our own government, our own Navy, is beyond me,” he said.

City staff members said Tuesday that Navy officials are opposed to using their land for an airport.

Regardless of the new site, city officials want Lindbergh Field kept open as a short-haul and commuter airport, while the new facility would handle national and international travel.

The City Council ordered staff members to begin drawing some conclusions about the TwinPorts project within a month.

In the meantime, Councilman Wes Pratt said, officials must get a better sense of whether Mexico is interested in allowing the project to work.

“If we are looking to be an international hub, Mexico has to figure in all of this,” he said. “This could possibly work, but the ball is in Mexico’s court. It takes Mexico to make it work.”