THREATENED BIRD HAS SIMI PLANNERS ANTSY.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Daily News Staff Writer

Ever since a lonely little covey of California gnatcatchers was spotted in Ventura County a year ago, Simi Valley planners have been on the lookout for the federally protected birds, whose homes are often threatened by development.

Though none have been spotted in the city, the birds have put building projects big and small momentarily on hold while biologists surveyed the area to determine if development would harm their habitats.

Hardly the full-scale investigations that halted development in Orange and San Diego counties earlier in the 1990s, the studies in Simi Valley and other areas around Ventura County are a new twist in local development.

``We always heard about what was happening in Orange County; we're kind of relieved we didn't have to go through that,'' said Michael Kuhn, a senior planner in Simi Valley. ``I guess that's changed.''

In Simi Valley over the past year, surveys of the songbird have been conducted on three proposed development sites - the Wal-Mart/Home Depot project on the west end of town, a recently approved housing and complex near Wood Ranch and another planned housing development on Sand Canyon Road - and are the first to be done in the city.

On Monday, the City Council approved another study of the bird at up to six sites being considered for storm-water catch basins.

``The gnatcatcher is new - it was thought to have been extirpated in Ventura County,'' said Rick Farris, an ecologist with the county office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ``Now we're trying to get a handle on where the gnatcatcher is.''

The small gray songbird is on the list of threatened species.

The bird makes its home in coastal sagebrush, which is also the habitat typically preferred by developers when planning new housing projects, shopping malls or other projects, Farris said.

It was first noticed in Moorpark in 1997 when a housing developer had plans to build in the area, he said. An earlier sighting was recorded in 1996.

Farris added that though the federal agency cannot require the studies, it relies on local governments to keep a lookout for the threatened songbird.

``It's very helpful to us,'' he said. ``The only information we can get is information people provide us.''

If gnatcatchers are found in Simi Valley under the new study, the city would need to use alternative sites for the catch basins.

Kuhn said the city is already considering other locations in case the bird is found. The $54,000 study is being funded with $28,000 from the city and the rest from state and county funds.

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PHOTO (Color) The California gnatcatcher's presence has put projects in Orange and San Diego counties on hold in recent years. Simi Valley planners have been keeping their eyes open for them.