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[*] posted on 12-16-2005 at 08:15 PM
Third border crossing sought by area leaders

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20051216-9...

By Diane Lindquist
December 16, 2005

CHULA VISTA ? Congestion at the two San Diego-Tijuana border crossings is so great, leaders from both sides of the border said yesterday, that a new port of entry is needed immediately.

The soonest one can be built, however, is 12 to 14 years away, they said.

At a community forum at Southwestern College put on by the Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce and the Tijuana Maquiladora Association, U.S. and Mexican federal, state and local officials outlined the steps being taken and the many more still needed to create a third area border crossing called Otay II.

"This is a lengthy and complicated process in both countries," said Jos? Marquez Padilla, the administrator of Mexican customs in Tijuana.

Application for a presidential permit, which is key to moving the project forward in the United States, was first submitted in February 2001. Local representatives are in Washington today meeting with federal agencies to learn what is needed to secure the permit.

"We won't spend any money until we have the presidential permit," CalTrans project manager Phi Salazar said. "Without the presidential permit, we don't have a project."

Ten U.S. federal agencies, 13 Mexican federal agencies and numerous state and local authorities on both sides of the border must sign onto the plan for it to move forward.

A site for the Otay II port of entry has been identified two miles east of the Otay Mesa crossing.

But there's uncertainty whether the facility should accommodate only commercial traffic or commercial traffic in one direction while Otay I would handle traffic in the other. Another suggestion is that only commercial and passenger vehicles approved for the fast-pass FAST and SENTRI programs would use Otay II.

Funding is another issue, said Gary Gallegos, SANDAG executive director. The U.S. Congress seems reluctant to provide money, so usage fees or private-public partnerships in which maquiladora operators could contribute might be a possibility.

Nevertheless, U.S. federal or California state authorization for such a financing scheme does not exist, said Jim King, director of the U.S. General Services Administration's southern border program. Legislation would have to be passed to allow it.

While San Diego and Tijuana proponents seem to be working together to make Otay II a reality, King noted that their presentations yesterday did not include a map that showed how the plan would work on both sides of the border.

Another problem, said Alejandro Rivera, executive director of Tijuana's Economic Development Corp., is that it's not clear who or what agency is driving the regional effort to get the port of entry built.

"My feeling is we don't have a leader on this," he said.
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