Several South Evanston residents voiced concern and disapproval of the proposed Oakton Historic District on Thursday night at a community meeting in Oakton Elementary School, 436 Ridge Ave., while as others defended the district.

A group of South Evanston residents have proposed the district — which would be bound by Oakton Street in the north, Howard Street in the south, Ridge Avenue in the east and Asbury Avenue in the west — as a way to honor the history of their neighborhood and its architecture.

But some residents raised questions about how the new status would affect their ability to conduct building projects on their own homes.

“I do not want my home in a historic district,” Sandra M. Nagel told the crowd of about 85 residents. “I don’t want to be stuck in a time warp.”

Susan Johnson, who lives in the 1100 block of Harvard Terrace, said the special designation was unnecessary for making sure neighbors kept home changes within reason.

“Most of us aren’t going to do stupid things to our houses,” she said. “Can’t some of this be handled by zoning?”

Supporters of the new district countered that historic district status would not hold back growth.

“Preservation isn’t about pickling a neighborhood,” said Mary McWilliams, an Evanston resident who has worked on other preservation projects in the area. She said the new district would yield benefits for the residents.

Creating the historic district would help give South Evanston some much-needed recognition, McWilliams said.

“We aren’t just a city of rich white guys who live by the lake,” she said.

Jeri Schmidt, a longtime South Evanston resident and real estate agent, told the audience that in her experience, people are more interested in buying homes in historic districts.

“I really feel that the benefits to the property owner will outweigh the inconveniences,” she said.

But Nagel remained unconvinced.

“(Preservation) is not working for me, and I live here,” Nagel said.

Johnson proposed that the community vote on whether to go ahead with the plan. Her request drew loud applause from the majority of the audience.

But Jack Weiss, project leader for the proposed district, said the preservation ordinance did not require a vote. He added that plans would not go forward without “overwhelming support” from the community.

Weiss proposed that the community meet again to address specific issues brought up at the meeting.

Despite the concerns, Weiss said he was pleased with the meeting.

“We expected opposition,” he said, noting that only six residents publicly criticized the project.

Barbara Gardner, chairwoman of the Evanston Preservation Commission, said a good portion of home improvement projects in historic districts require no approval from the commission, while many others require only a brief review. Only in a few instances, she said, does the Commission need to have a full review of the projects. Even in those cases, rejection is rare, she said.

“I would say probably 99 percent of the projects we approve as presented,” she said.

She said the commission would not make decisions based on arbitrary guidelines.

“We’ve been referred to as the taste police,” she said. “This has nothing to do with taste.”