The Marin Board of Supervisors approved to greenlight part of a housing development on the Tiburon Peninsula this week. The complicated and controversial project has been seeking approval for nearly 40 years.

The Martha Company, which currently owns the property, says it has plans to build 34 single family homes with 5,000–8,750 square feet of living space on half-acre lots. However, controversy has surrounded the project for years, as the land sits on the Tiburon Peninsula, which is home to rare and endangered flora species and ancient Native American rock carvings.

The Martha Company has spent nearly $6 million on environmental reports since the 1970s, hoping to win over the board. Still, it’s not enough, according to the environmental group, Tiburon Open Spaces. They say their co-founder, the Trust for Public Land, still hopes to raise enough money to purchase the land from the Martha Company and make it a protected space, as told to The North Bay Business Journal.

The remaining two of four entitlements for the project, which still need board approval, will be revisited early next year.