San Diego

A 90-day construction moratorium for more than 3,100 acres around Brown Field was tentatively approved Tuesday by the San Diego City Council in an effort to preserve the city-owned general aviation airstrip for possible expansion into a major airport.

If it receives final approval, the moratorium proposed by Councilman Ron Roberts will delay development while the San Diego Assn. of Governments determines whether the Otay Mesa airstrip can be expanded to relieve Lindbergh Field of some commercial airline traffic.

Sandag is reviewing a private consultant’s report that indicates that two southwest to northeast runways could be built on Brown Field, allowing a possible “multiple airport solution” to the longstanding and worsening problem of crowding at Lindbergh, the region’s only major airport. The Sandag response is due within 30 days.

Accordingly, land situated roughly in a swath where the two parallel runways would be put was included in the building moratorium. However, 240 acres of subdivisions where industrial projects are close to breaking ground were exempted from Roberts’ original ban, which covered about 3,400 acres.