A Quiet Getaway : Communities: Residents of Antelope Acres in the High Desert say it’s a welcome change from big-city bustle. But many fear development still may intrude.

From the DWP employee to the pastor’s wife, from the “bird lady” to the Army veteran, the residents of the tiny High Desert community of Antelope Acres tell a similar story.

“We love it. It’s a nice change,” said Cindy Dobbins, whose husband is pastor of the only church in town and who moved here from Eagle Rock. “It’s quiet and peaceful. In the city, it was nothing but hustle-bustle.”

“I like my space and my solitude,” said Alice Noera, who has turned her home and small plot of land into an extraordinary bird sanctuary.

One visitor shared the enthusiasm. “It’s great,” David Eversull said while hanging out at the local market. An 11-year-old from Lancaster, David said he loves to visit his grandfather in Antelope Acres and work with farm animals. “I helped my grandfather deliver a baby sheep. People would think you’re crazy if they see you doing that in the city.”

The object of this affection certainly doesn’t look like much. Antelope Acres is a collection of about 400 frame cottages and newer stucco homes scattered over sagebrush about 12 miles northwest of central Lancaster. It could be the location for a bleak desert “road” movie. A stiff wind hurls tumbleweeds across the main street, the side streets are just dirt, and the gas station is boarded up, its pumps long dry.

The market is the only store in town and there is one restaurant--a coffee shop was recently replaced by the El Jaliciense Mexican eatery.

Antelope Acres is one of a dying breed of communities in Los Angeles County that still offer a rural lifestyle. For its residents, that is attraction enough. “Anybody you ask here, they’re satisfied,” said Paul Simon, who has lived in the community for 20 years. “How many have I seen who have moved away and come back?”

The rustic setting has always been Antelope Acres’ selling point. In the community’s early days, “it was advertised as rural living,” said Max Nash, one of the original residents, who bought his home for $3,000.

It was developed by Harvey B. Bagley, a businessman who made his fortune in oil leases. In 1948, he acquired about 2,000 acres of sagebrush and divided it into five-acre lots. Prospective buyers were tempted with offers of unfinished homes--frame cottages with rudimentary plumbing and wiring and no interior fixtures--that occupants could complete.

In recent years, the houses have become a little more grandiose. Several two-story stucco homes have been built, selling for about $250,000. The lots have been subdivided down to 2 1/2 acres and, in some cases, 1 1/4 acres. But that still leaves plenty of room for people to keep horses, raise farm animals and enjoy other aspects of rural life.

“It was for my kids that I got away,” said Judy Fuentes, who moved from Highland Park three years ago but still commutes to her job with the Department of Water and Power in Los Angeles.

Antelope Acres has its quirky side. Homes have names such as “Big Deal Ranch” and “Fat Chance Ranch,” and weather-beaten locals in plaid shirts and baseball caps while away the hours at the market, sipping coffee and swapping gossip.

Perhaps the town’s most notable character is Noera, known as “the bird lady.” On a recent afternoon, the retired schoolteacher’s “Nil Desperandum Sanctuary” was home to everything from peacocks and ravens to ducks and a red-tailed hawk. Many of the refugees are chicks found abandoned in the area and sent to Noera by the local county animal shelter. Some are injured birds. “Quite a few never learn to fly again,” Noera said.

The bird lady is also one of Antelope Acres’ activists, dedicated to preserving the community’s ambience. These days, as the orbit of suburban Lancaster inches ever closer, that is becoming an increasingly difficult task.

Although crime is still relatively rare, residents complain about having to lock their doors.

Another concern is development. When a mini-mart was proposed for the empty lot opposite her home, Noera launched a petition drive against it.

A bigger threat is immediately south of town. Lancaster has annexed 885 acres there and the Larwin Co. of Encino plans to build more than 2,000 tract homes on the land.

A few Antelope Acres residents talk of benefits such as increased property values, but most--including the entire Town Council--are adamantly opposed to the development. “That’s what I was trying to get away from,” said Fuentes, who is a council member.

If the development is built, Antelope Acres “would change dramatically,” said Bob Miracle, a retired construction worker. “It would probably end up being like Northridge or something.”