Earlier this year, a modest, two-year pilot program aimed at opening 6 miles of trails (out of 60) to bicycles in the Mount Tamalpais watershed hit an unexpected legal roadblock. Despite four years of outreach, resource surveys and stakeholder input, the decision by the Marin Municipal Water District Board of Directors to approve the program was met with a California Environmental Quality Act lawsuit from a coalition of hiking groups. I consider it a major setback for data-driven planning, public collaboration and more equitable trail access. … This decision should not be viewed as an admission of error, but rather as a pragmatic response to legal tactics that exploit CEQA to obstruct progress, even when no real environmental harm is at stake.
–Written by Krista Hoff, off road advocacy director for the Marin County Bicycle Coalition.

Other CEQA news:

• Berkeleyside (Calif.): Newsom changed CEQA to promote housing and development. What could it mean for Berkeley?
• The Real Deal: Local vs. state battle comes to fore — again — with latest CEQA changes
• Voices of San Diego: How CEQA reforms will impact homebuilding in San Diego
• Bakersfield Californian: Proposed bill would protect Kern’s oil permitting system from CEQA lawsuits