I also am a contractor in CA so I fully understand your point and appreciate a properly thought out set of plans. I have been part of too many projects that were bid on a light set and most parties involved ended up taking it in the shorts to some degree. Happens all the time when you work with people you don’t know or work from crappy plans. A good set of plans is better for everyone and well worth the extra money.
In California some of us have been conditioned to tolerate a government that can dictate what paint to use. Some of us can’t take it any more and need to move before they send us to re-education camp. The problem here is not the homeowner, the designer, the manufacturer of the materials or the men who install them. The problem is a government that has way too much power.
My fight at present is with the Historic Preservation people....who have absolutely no business telling people what to do with their house to keep it "original". I tell them...if that's what YOU want..."Buy it".
There is no health, safety or welfare issues with these groups. In fact, the opposite...they keep dilapidated buildings alive when they should be demolished.
We just had a good example....an old church burned down. It had already been condemned...but the preservation people insisted on some right to save it.