MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — Water regulators have voted to ban septic tanks in the heart of Malibu, Calif., after a prolonged battle over bacterial pollution leaching into the ocean at some of the state’s most popular beaches.

Residents and city leaders have long opposed switching from septic tanks to sewer pipes because the infrastructure could be used to bring massive development to the rustic community.

On Thursday members of the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board voted to yank the city’s ability to manage commercial septic systems. It directed staff to draft a plan banning septic tanks in the city center and to come up with a proposal for a wastewater treatment plant that would break ground in the next few years.