The long-running dispute involving residents of Turnage Heights, SunRay Properties of Charlotte and the City of Durham finally came to a resolution this week.

Time will tell how long this resolution lasts, and what it means for Durham.

By a 7-0 vote Tuesday, the Durham Board of Adjustment rejected the Turnage Heights neighborhood's challenge to a steel commercial building at the former Mariners' Cove restaurant site on Morreene Road.

"I don't know what the next step is," said Janet Mittman of Linden Terrace, who had appealed a planning department decision that permitted the building to go up. "We are not ruling out superior court."

The Board of Adjustment ruling may be appealed in court, but neighborhood attorney David McKenzie said, "They would be facing an uphill battle."

The 13,008-square foot building was intended to house D&L Parts, which primarily deals in wholesale heating and air-conditioning components. The planning department approved the site plan for an appliance store, permitted under the property's "neighborhood commercial" zoning. After residents began objecting this past summer, the planning department ruled that the wholesale side of D&L's business could violate the code.

Subsequently, D&L located elsewhere and the owner put the building up for sale. Nearby residents, though, hold that the building is an eyesore that has no business in their suburban neighborhood and wanted it taken down.

The Board of Adjustment was apparently swayed by attorneys' arguments that the issue of use is now moot, and that the ordinance does not forbid the building itself. Afterward, though, several people involved said the case had raised questions about the development ordinance.

"It demonstrates some real problems and concerns that need to be addressed," said interim City Attorney Karen Sindelar.

The Durham People's Alliance political group has proposed the city hire a neighborhood advocate to aid resident groups in dealing with developers and local government. John Schelp of West Durham, who has promoted the idea, said Turnage Heights' appeal is a case in point.

"This case highlights the need for a more neighborhood-friendly commercial zone next to a residential area," Schelp said, "[and] clearly shows how important a neighborhood advocate, not a liaison, an advocate, can be.

"It's happening elsewhere in Durham," he said. "Everything from used-car lots to condominium projects to warehouses in the middle of residential communities."

Will Robinson, who owns two rental houses near the SunRay site, said the neighbors need some time to "process all of this" and decide what to do next.

"At the very least," he wrote in an e-mail response to a reporter's question, "we may have played a large part in sparing other neighborhoods the same injustice we've experienced, and that is no small consolation."