SIMI'S LITTLE SECRET KNOLLS A HAVEN IN VALLEY.

Byline: Andrea Cavanaugh Staff Writer

Tucked in the hills above Simi Valley's orderly grids and right angles lies the quirky neighborhood of Santa Susana Knolls, where the winding roads, boulder-studded ridges and custom-built homes are anything but ordinary.

Longtime residents say the remote feel of the Knolls, combined with its actual proximity to Simi Valley and the rest of the world, suits them just fine.

``You seem like you're so far from everything, but everything's right over that hill,'' said resident Robert Brown, gesturing southeast toward Los Angeles. ``It's out, but it's in.''

Since the unincorporated community is obscured by live oaks and the geography of the area's rugged canyons, many of Simi Valley's newer residents aren't even aware that it lies just south of the city's eastern edge.

``When people come up here, they say, 'I never knew this was here,''' resident Diane Pollard said. ``It's kind of like Simi's little secret.''

The Knolls have changed somewhat since the early 1970s, when the area was populated by a few wealthy homeowners and scads of Bohemian dropouts who squatted in the houses and shacks that dotted the hills, Pollard said.

``It used to be, you're either white trash or a zillionaire,'' Pollard said. ``Not anymore.''

Now, many Knolls residents use their minivans and SUVs to commute to professional jobs in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

Residents clearly value their privacy. One home has a ``No Trespassing'' sign hung amid half a dozen cheerful ``Welcome'' placards.

Pollard's husband, Robert, rented their home for $60 per month in 1972, clearing out scattered wine bottles and fixing a hole in the front door big enough to crawl through.

The couple bought the house in 1979, transforming it over the years from a beat-up crash pad to a gleaming showpiece with a varnished tongue- and-groove exterior.

Although many Knolls residents now move in the mainstream, the area hasn't lost its eccentric charm.

The shacks built from license plates have been torn down, but many homes still sport the funky originality that would seem out of place in the cookie-cutter housing tracts of mainstream Simi Valley.

Residents spot coyotes and bobcats from their windows, and the twisting roads criss-cross ravines without the benefit of streetlights or sidewalks.

``It has it's own unique flavor,'' Brown said. ``It's a whole different lifestyle. It's a whole different world.''

Andrea Cavanaugh, [phone]

andrea.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Robert Brown takes in the view from his deck in the Santa Susana Knolls area.

Joe Binoya/Staff Photographer