My county also has a bureaucratic nightmare for a building permits department. I avoid interaction with them however I can. Sheds less than 120sqft do not require solar permits, so I am trying to cram 1.7kw of panels on to my garden shed. Also looking at getting another few kw mounted on a wheeled trailer which the building dpt does not have dominion over.

They want $1000 for a permit which would increase my payback time by at least 3 years.

I closely follow the relevant codes that improve my children's safety, but about half of the codes in my county are more about bureaucracy then safety.

That's what happens when bureaucracies need to justify their existence. Sad.

Not saying safety isn't important. Quite to the contrary. However, there's safety and then there's making life impossible with things that don't really add to or enhance safety.