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A controversial townhouse development slated for an Oakland ridge can be built despite environmental protections that were enacted to protect such land in the New Jersey Highlands, the state Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.

In a unanimous decision, the justices said the administration of former Gov. Chris Christie did not err when it approved permits for over 200 homes in 2015 after a nearly three-decade battle over the fate of the forested land.

The decision upholds an appellate panel's determination last year that the developer, Bi-County Development Corp. of Brooklyn, was allowed to bypass strict restrictions put in place by the 2004 Highlands Act to protect key drinking water sources because it had received approval prior to the act.

The land has been the site of a three-decade battle among developers, residents, public officials and environmental groups.

Leigh Lydecker Jr., who lives on Longhill Road across from the proposed site, said Thursday that "it's a big mistake to develop that property."

"People in New Jersey need fresh water," said Lydecker, an engineer. "If the politicians disregard that, they will suffer. You can live without food longer than you can live without water."

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The legal tussles date back to at least 1987, when the owners sued the borough to build 700 residential units on the site, a proposal that included affordable housing.

It also generated opposition from Wayne officials and residents who feared that the cliff-side development would cause runoff into Pines Lake below.

The property languished for years after state officials determined that its wetlands were a habitat for the barred owl, a threatened species in New Jersey.

Conservationists thought the project was dead in 2004 when the Highlands Act placed severe restrictions on large development in New Jersey's reservoir region including the Pinnacle/Bi-County property. In 2008, the Department of Environmental Protection blocked the development from hooking up to sewer lines in neighboring Wayne, saying the homes would draw too much water from the Ramapo River while destroying critical habitat.

But the owners eventually challenged the DEP in court. They argued that a 1991 agreement between the developers and Oakland officials to allow the project to move forward to meet the town's affordable housing mandates was grandfathered in despite the Highlands protections that came after it.

The DEP reversed its stance and agreed with the developers in a 2014 settlement, which drew criticism from local officials, nearby residents and environmentalists.

The next year, DEP issued the first round of permits for 77 single-family homes and a 132-townhouse complex.

But two environmental groups — the New Jersey Highlands Coalition and the New Jersey Sierra Club — sued to invalidate the permits, hampering Bi-County's ability to break ground or sell the land to another developer. An appellate panel upheld the settlement. The state Supreme Court decided to take the case late last year.

It is unclear if the developers have any more regulatory hurdles. A lawyer for Bi-County did not return a phone call seeking comment Thursday. A DEP spokesman would only say agency officials are reviewing the decision.

Oakland Borough Attorney Brian Chewcaskie said Thursday there are "no approvals for the proposed development."

"Planning Board and other governmental approvals will be required," Chewcaskie said.

Elliot Ruga, of the Highlands Coalition, said his group and others will continue to oppose the project at every turn.

"This is one of the most sensitive environmentally sensitive areas left," he said. "I don’t think that one provision in land use justifies the resources that will be lost."

Meanwhile, the property remains coveted by open space advocates.

"This is now Gov. Murphy's mess and he needs to prioritize this piece of land for acquisition," said Jeff Tittel, head of the NJ Sierra Club. "This land is why the Highlands Act was created in the first place."

The state and Bergen County have tried to buy the property and preserve it as open space, but negotiations have gone nowhere. Bergen County officials had even allocated $1 million toward purchasing the property with open space funds.

Wayne Mayor Chris Vergano said he was disappointed by the ruling.

“We’ve always felt this development isn’t in the best interests of the people of Oakland or the people of Wayne that border this location,” he said Thursday.

Vergano said residents of the nearby Pines Lake neighborhood oppose the project because it could cause more storm-water runoff.

“If there’s a tremendous amount,” he said, “that water could eventually wind up in the lake.”

The best outcome for the swath of pristine land would have been to keep it as is, Vergano said.

“We hoped the State of New Jersey and other entities were going to get together to purchase this property and leave it as open space,” the mayor said. “It was talked about for many years, but I guess that didn’t go too far.”

Elaine Rowin was mayor of Oakland in 1991 when they signed an agreement permitting 370 units on the site. She called the agreement an "allegorical sword of Damocles" but said they had "no choice but to approve a development at this site" due to affordable housing mandates.

Rowin said Thursday that she was "not surprised" at the ruling.

"I felt all along the rules were followed," said Rowin."It would be nice to have it settled and over with. The issue is still going to be sewage. While they do have an approval, I don't now if that's going to happen."

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