San Ysidro leaders say they have "lost confidence" in a key part of the $631 million plan to expand the San Ysidro Port of Entry, claiming changes made to expand southbound operations will hurt local businesses.

The San Ysidro Smart Border Coalition, made up of local business and community groups, said the U.S. decision to use more space than originally planned would force three businesses to move: Crucero USA, the Greyhound bus line operator in San Ysidro; UETA Duty Free and the San Ysidro Parking Group.

"To date, none of these businesses, good corporate citizens and crucial tax-generating operations, has been offered relocation options that allow them to remain in business," the coalition said in the Dec. 20 letter to the head of the General Services Administration (GSA).

The three-phase project, which is to be completed in 2016, will add more northbound and southbound lanes, pedestrian crossings in both directions and facilities for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Jason Wells, the coalition's coordinator and executive director of the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce, said the community's main concern is with the third-phase of the project, which includes expansion of southbound lanes to enter Mexico.

Wells said the community worries that the expansion of southbound operations will mean more inspections and delays. U.S. border officers currently conduct random southbound checkpoints, looking for weapons and cash, on six lanes of Interstate 5 near the land. The checkpoints can delay southbound traffic for an hour or longer.

U.S. officials say more space is needed to expand from six to 12 southbound lanes and for "associated" facilities. They said that they are working with the owners of the businesses affected to reduce the impact.

In a Dec. 8 letter to a coalition member, GSA Project Manager Damon Yee said the agency plans to conduct environmental studies to determine the potential impact of the expansion.

"Though GSA has sought to maintain a smaller footprint of the Port, accommodating the new 12-lane configuration is necessary to meet the demands for (Customs and Border Protection) southbound operations and to minimize backup on southbound I-5," Yee wrote

Yee declined to comment about the displacement of businesses other than to say "GSA anticipates coming to agreement with the affected property owners in the coming months."

GSA spokeswoman Gene Gibson, responding to the coalition's Dec. 20 letter, said businesses would be displaced by the expansion.

"There's no way to avoid it," she said, adding that officials were working to "find a reasonable solution so nobody gets displaced to the point where they would lose their business."

Wells said the three businesses most affected could have relocated to other spots near the port of entry but can no longer do so because of the changes to the plan.

He said the Las Americas Premium Outlets and Border Station Parking near the port would also be affected by traffic issues as a result of the change.

Yee also said GSA is prohibited from lobbying for federal funding for San Ysidro to help offset the loss of tax revenue from displaced businesses, another community concern.

The San Ysidro Smart Border Coalition, in the Dec. 20 letter, was also critical of other changes made to the original expansion plan, including reducing the scope of the pedestrian bridge now under construction. Yee said changes were justified by studies that show it would not be as heavily used as previously thought.

Leonel.sanchez@sandiegored.com