After a back-and-forth discussion that at times grew philosophical, a split Round Rock City Council sided with residents rather than a local auto body shop in a battle over rezoning a plot of land on Clark Street.

The council voted 5-2 to deny the request of Excellence Auto Body to rezone about 0.98 acres located south of 1307 Clark St. and just off of Sam Bass Road from single-family residential to office, with only council members George White and Joe Clifford favoring the rezoning.

"It's almost like the industrial part of it is invading [a residential area]," Mayor Pro Tem Carlos Salinas said. "I think what [the neighborhood] wants to be is a historical remnant of what Round Rock once was."

Clifford, however, saw the rezoning to a residential office designation as a buffer between the neighborhood and the light industrial zoning nearby.

"Personally, I think it's a good transition," Clifford said, adding that the land appeared to be a poor fit for a house. "I don't see it being single-family. I don't see that happening."

Round Rock Planning Director Peter Wysocki said a high-end home on that lot was "probably very, very unlikely."

White, meanwhile, said he favored the property owner's rights as long as the potential use was not "blatantly offensive" to nearby properties.

Several residents spoke out against the rezoning at the beginning of the meeting and presented the council with a petition against the change. No representative for the landowner was present, a fact with seemed to weigh heavily on several council members.

"I would have appreciated someone here to talk to us about it, to see what their plans are," Councilman Craig Morgan said.

The land is zoned SF-2, a single-family zoning. The requested zoning was OF, with allows the construction of an office building, day care or small-animal veterinary clinic.