Residents of a private, upscale Bronx community who want the area declared a landmark appeared to win some friends on a City Council subcommittee recently, taking the controversial measure a step closer to fruition.

Designation as a historic district would require city approval to expand most of the 257 homes in the Fieldston section of Riverdale to accommodate large families. Homes in the area generally carry multimillion-dollar price tags.

The push for landmark status coincides with the growth of the neighborhood’s Orthodox community, but proponents insist the measure isn’t meant to stem that tide.

Opponents say the effect, if not the intent, will be just that.

All but 30 of the homes in Fieldston have been recommended as architecturally and historically significant by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). The chairman of the LPC, John Tierney, told City Council members on Tuesday that Fieldston epitomizes what a historic district is and should be.

Opponents of the landmark status say the LPCs survey of the area is riddled with errors Tierney admitted it was made via external observation of the homes and to have hired lawyers and a lobbyist to make their case.

But observers consider it highly unlikely the Council will block the measure against the recommendation of the LPC and the areas councilman, G. Oliver Koppell, who lives in Fieldston.

The opinion of the Councilman who represents the area is taken very seriously, in addition to the opinion of the landmarks commission, said Councilwoman Melinda Katz, a Queens Democrat and chair of the Land Use Committee, which will have the final say on the matter on April 5.

Fieldston is a gorgeous area, with clearly a lot of history, Katz said. I think people there are afraid of big houses [being built].

After dozens of people on both sides of the issue testified before the Council’s landmarks subcommittee Tuesday, Jessica Lappin, the subcommittee’s chair, said the proponents made a very persuasive argument. Lappin is a Democrat from Manhattan’s East Side.

Only one person who testified, Charles Moerdler, a former commissioner of the city Department of Buildings and a Riverdale resident, used the words exclusion and discriminate in his remarks.

Moerdler later said he was referring to Orthodox Jews primarily and other young families who may be interested in buying homes in Fieldston. Asked if the exclusion was intentional, he said, I hope not.

A subcommittee member who stayed for the entire four hours of testimony (many shuttled to a concurrent meeting on a proposed new stadium for the Yankees) said he saw no evidence of discrimination.

If you are going to use that type of wording, you have to substantiate that position, said Leon Comrie, a Queens Democrat. They didn’t show any facts.

Most of those testifying against the landmark designation said they were opposed because they believed residents had done a good job of protecting the character of the neighborhood on their own and because they feared the designation would lead to onerous bureaucratic intrusion on even basic home repairs like replacing a window or adding air conditioning.

The landmark efforts come at a time when the areas Orthodox community has grown to about 20 percent, or 50 homes, up from 10 homes five years ago, according to one estimate.

Orthodox residents are split over the landmark question, with many in favor. Others hint that their presence has raised hackles.

A lot of people are uncomfortable seeing young families walking to shul, said one Orthodox resident who asked for anonymity to avoid creating tension with neighbors.

That same resident, however, said he believed that some Orthodox homeowners had a tendency when building to do whatever the law allows, and screw whatever it looks like.

Tierney, the LPC chair, on Tuesday downplayed the difficulty of obtaining approval for renovations, which would be granted if deemed consistent with the home’s architectural style.

There is no reason why it can’t be done in a couple of months, at the outside, he said.

But a landmark opponent, Daniel Perla, an Orthodox resident who testified Tuesday, said the designation would represent a stumbling block to young families because of the need to pay a fee to the LPC for consideration as well as the length of time involved.

The cost of the renovation under the high standards of the commission would also be higher, he said.

There are some who believe this is being done largely to discriminate against the Orthodox community, said Perla, a securities consultant who is president of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, the largest Orthodox synagogue in the area. I don’t agree with that. I think it’s a mind-set that opposes change, period, and it’s a mind-set that is not sensitive to the needs of new constituencies.

But two Orthodox residents who favor the landmark, Shoshana Stadtmauer and Edith Glazer, said in an interview that the landmark push was prompted by the recent demolition of historic homes that were replaced by McMansions, a term generally applied to large, generic homes that give the impression of having been mass produced.

The replacement homes really offended the neighbors, Glazer said. This is the first time homes have ever been demolished.

Stadtmauer said this was initiated five years ago, prior to the Orthodox community having started to really mushroom.

When asked about the timing of the landmarks push Koppell, who has lived in Fieldston for 13 years, said there is tremendous pressure these days for building more and changing.

A lot of people have money. We see areas all over the country, frankly, where the character is being changed without regard to preserving what we have, he said. I think it should have been land marked 20 years ago, but the landmarks commission didn’t get to it.

At Tuesday’s hearing Koppell repeatedly countered the testimony of opponents and questioned witnesses, although he is not a member of the landmarks subcommittee. He announced that as an interested party, he had consulted with an ethics expert about his participation.

The New York Post recently reported that Koppell and his wife, Lorraine, had listed their Fieldston home for sale at $2.7 million shortly after the LPC made its favorable recommendation.

Koppell told the Post that his wife, a real estate broker, was testing the market and that they have no plan to move.

Both opponents and supporters of landmark designation claim to be in the majority, with poll results and petitions hotly disputed on Tuesday.

When an opponent, Ellen Rodman, said 130 families, or more than half, opposed the landmark, Koppell called for an independent review, noting that some homeowners own more than one lot of property and may have been counted twice.

Some noted that Tierney had referred to the residents at an earlier hearing as amazing stewards of the area’s historic character, and wondered why future development couldn’t be staved off by empowering a homeowners association to impede construction.

Landmark supporters counter that only the LPC has the wisdom and legal authority to approve or reject building plans, while allowing neighbors to veto changes on each other’s homes could rip the community apart.

Having a co-op-board-like situation in Fieldston would be very perilous, Koppell said.

Landmark foes reportedly reached out to the Anti-Defamation League and American Civil Liberties Union for support.

Councilman Simcha Felder of Brooklyn, who is Orthodox, initially raised some concern about the Fieldston controversy, but said Tuesday he was unconvinced that discrimination is involved.

”No one has been able to prove that to me,” he said.