(a) Except as provided in subdivision (e), the City of Needles may establish a pilot project to designate combined-use highways on roads in the city for no more than 10 miles so that the combined-use highways can be used to link existing off-highway motor vehicle trails and trailheads on federal Bureau of Land Management or United States Forest Service lands, and to link off-highway motor vehicle recreational-use areas with necessary service and lodging facilities, in order to provide a unified system of trails for off-highway motor vehicles, preserve traffic safety, improve natural resource protection, reduce off-highway vehicle trespass on private land, and minimize impacts on city residents.

(b) A pilot project established pursuant to this section shall do all of the following:

(1) Prescribe a procedure for highway, road, or route selection and designation. The procedure shall be approved by a vote of a majority of the city council.

(2) Prescribe a procedure for the city to remove a combined-use designation, including a designation that is removed as a result of the conclusion of the pilot program.

(3) In cooperation with the Department of Transportation, establish uniform specifications and symbols for signs, markers, and traffic control devices to control off-highway motor vehicles, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Devices to warn of dangerous conditions, obstacles, or hazards.

(B) Designations of the right-of-way for regular vehicular traffic and off-highway motor vehicles.

(C) A description of the nature and destination of the off-highway motor vehicle trail.

(D) Warning signs for pedestrians and motorists of the presence of off-highway motor vehicle traffic.

(4) Require that off-highway motor vehicles subject to the pilot project meet the safety requirements of federal and state law regarding proper drivers’ licensing, helmet usage, and the requirements specified in Section 38026.5.

(5) Prohibit off-highway motor vehicles from traveling faster than 35 miles per hour on highways designated under this section.

(6) (A) ? Prohibit a combined-use highway road segment designated under this section from exceeding 10 miles.

(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), two or more combined-use highway road segments may share a common starting point or ending point and may partially overlap as long as the resulting network of the highway road segments does not include more than three distinct locations of shared starting or ending points, or both.

(7) Include an opportunity for public comment at a public hearing held by the city in order to evaluate the pilot project.

(c) A pilot project established pursuant to this section may include use of a state highway, subject to the approval of the Department of Transportation, or any crossing of a highway designated pursuant to Section 38025.

(d) (1) ? By selecting and designating a highway for combined use pursuant to this section, the city agrees to defend and indemnify the state against any and all claims, including legal defense and liability arising from a claim, for any safety-related losses or injuries arising or resulting from use by off-highway motor vehicles of a highway designated as a combined-use highway by the city council pursuant to this section.

(2) This subdivision does not alter the requirements of subdivision (e).

(e) The city shall not designate a highway for combined use pursuant to this section unless the Commissioner of the Department of the California Highway Patrol finds that designating the highway for combined use would not create a potential traffic safety hazard.

(f) (1) ? Not later than January 1, 2027, the City of Needles, in consultation with the Department of the California Highway Patrol, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Parks and Recreation, shall prepare and submit to the Legislature a report evaluating the pilot project, and containing all of the following:

(A) A description of the road segments designated to allow combined use for over three miles, as approved or adopted by a majority vote of the members of the City of Needles city council.

(B) An evaluation of the overall safety and effectiveness of the pilot project, including its impact on traffic flows, safety, off-highway vehicle usage on existing trails, incursions into areas not designated for off-highway vehicle usage, and nonmotorized recreation.

(C) A description of the public comments received at a public hearing held by the city in regards to an evaluation of the pilot project.

(2) On or before January 1, 2027, the City of Needles, in consultation with the entities listed in paragraph (1), shall prepare and submit a report to the Legislature that includes the information specified in paragraph (1).

(g) On or before January 1, 2027, the City of Needles, in consultation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District, shall prepare and submit a report to the Legislature on the operation and impacts of the combined-use highways designated pursuant to this section, and the portions of any adjoining trails in close proximity to those highways, including impacts to neighboring lands affected by the system, if any. The report shall include the latest available information, including, but not limited to, impacts on cultural resources and archaeological sites, streambed modifications and water quality impacts, impacts on protections for wildlife and aquatic habitat, native plants, and wildlife, traffic, particulate pollution, and noise.

(h) (1) The reports submitted pursuant to subdivisions (f) and (g) shall be submitted in compliance with § 9795 of the Government Code.

(2) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2028, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2028, deletes or extends that date.

(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 185, Sec. 4. (AB 2152) Effective January 1, 2023. Repealed as of January 1, 2028, by its own provisions.)