Saying he's "fought long enough," West Marin Sanitary Landfill owner Leroy Martinelli has ceded to county demands that he remove four illegal trailer homes from his property.

Consequently, 19 tenants will be forced from their dwellings further up Tomasini Canyon from the Point Reyes Station landfill.

"I don't think this [housing] is hurting one bit," Martinelli remarked, "but you can't fight the county."

Prompted by neighbors' complaints, inspectors gave Martinelli a deadline to legalize the trailers back in Aug. 1996, although Martinelli declined to apply. He has now agreed to remove the trailers by Feb. 15.

Martinelli's attorney, Rod Moore, said it was "cost-prohibitive" for Martinelli to jump through the hoops required to legalize the trailers. Permit costs are $8000 per unit, with estimates for required "improvements" running as high as $60,000.

"Invest that to collect $550 a month in rent?" Martinelli asked rhetorically. "That just doesn't cut it."

Martinelli does not dispute the county's legal position, but questions what he considers the county's sudden (the trailers have been used for 10 years) and arbitrary enforcement. He is equally vocal about his tenants' predicament.

"We resisted the ruling in large part to keep these people housed," attorney Moore said. "Our agreement with the county buys them some time."

He characterized the case as one of "selective enforcement," the result of "private efforts to negatively impact Martinelli." He added that the county "did what it had to do. They couldn't just ignore repeated calls from a few vocal individuals...

"Many such [illegal] structures exist throughout West Marin that the Johnny-come-latelys haven't taken an exception to. These are people who built in the '70s and '80s and have used the dump which has been here 32 years. They now resent the service Leroy has provided because they don't want it next door."

As it happens, Martinelli's landfill is scheduled to close permanently, although when - and who pays for the state closure process - remains a riddle.

The landfill owner said similar violations are common, even inevitable, given West Marin's low-income housing crunch. He insisted the trailers, however illegal, are decent and affordable. Meanwhile, he claimed, the county ignores instances of truly sub-standard habitations on other properties.

"The county has me singled out. I could make quite a list, and I'm talking about everyone. I'm talking about houses in Point Reyes with garages turned into apartments with no permits on them." Martinelli went on to say he could cite numerous examples of illegal housing with dangerous conditions.

Michael Singleton of the County Counsel's office responded that the county acts on any and all reported violations.

The Martinelli case recalls numerous past crack-downs on illegal housing units. Indeed, Martinelli's dump is the current resting place for the remains of one of 12 permit-less trailers ordered removed from Johnson Oyster Company in 1994. In that incident 60 persons were displaced.

As a sidelight to Martinelli's skirmish, the county has classified one small, wooden dwelling, now home to three tenants, as a "barn," and therefore illegal for occupancy.

"This is not a barn," declared Martinelli. "This is a cabin. It's even been landscaped. I've lived in it myself." According to Martinelli the cabin has been inhabited regularly for 70 years.

Many of Martinelli's 19 tenants, meanwhile, face uncertain housing and employment options. Several remarked on the scarcity and expense of local housing, saying they were lucky to find their current homes after tedious searching.

Sandra Ramos, who works at Tomales Bay Foods in Point Reyes Station, said her family may be forced to relocate to Petaluma. She worries that urban living might prove unsafe for her child.

Another Point Reyes worker, Sugey Bernal, wants to keep her job at the Palace Market and hopes to avoid commuting from another locale.

While the trailer saga has produced plenty of verbiage, the unspoken issue may be land-use policy. Regulations intended to protect residential health and safety have worsened housing shortages endemic to West Marin and have failed to offer healthy or safe alternatives to homelessness.

As to whether the county is merely replacing one problem with another, Planning Services Coordinator Scott Davidson said, "We recognize the need for housing ... There is no doubt in my mind. But at present, if the use of property departs from what the community has approved, we have an obligation to implement the community's land-use goals. If those goals need to change, [something like] the Point Reyes Community Plan provides the best forum."

But to landlord Martinelli, such questions are purely academic. "To hell with it ... 'Get rid of them' - that's the county's attitude. That's the orders they're giving me. These are good people who work, but the county wants them homeless.

"I told the county, you serve these [eviction] notices. I don't want any part of it. It's on them."