Injunction Holds for MMWD Pilot Project

Marin County, CA | The saga continues in a lawsuit filed on October 4th by groups claiming to represent environmental interests, against MMWD and its pilot projects that aim to grant limited access to bikes on Mt. Tam.

On October 31st, one day before the official hearing on November 1, Judge Andrew Sweet released a tentative ruling that the preliminary injunction will be upheld until the case against the pilot project is settled. That case is, ultimately, about determining whether and how a CEQA review may be required for bikes to be granted legal access to trails. At the hearing, Marin Water attorneys objected to several items in the judge’s tentative ruling, and made a convincing case to separate the injunction ruling into 2 parts: one for the pilot trails, and one for the eMTB pilot. While the former will take time, the latter may be granted much faster.

Judge Sweet now has 90 days to make a ruling about whether to continue with an injunction for both parts of the pilot project or just the trails component. In terms of the case, mediation between the plaintiffs and MMWD is scheduled for this week.

Stay tuned.

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Here’s what we know about the lawsuit:

1) The claims made in the suit lack scientific evidence, are not certified by environmental scientists, and include claims that have been debunked;

2) The suit also contains unbacked statements pertaining to safety - safety is an MMWD matter and not what this case is about; and

3) The suit was filed by specific individuals within the organizations, and in the case of Marin Conservational League, this was done without the support and consensus of its members.

We also know that MMWD is prepared to fight and it won’t come at a cost to rate payers - Read our recent Q&A with MMWD Board Member, Matt Samson.