It wont get any better till you leave Kalifornina
So true. You need permits for everything and there's a limited list of what you can and cannot use.
My son was going to build on a lot in San Rafael. He spent thousands and never got to the building stage. He gave up and sold the lot. In Marin County, another son has a house with redwood plywood siding. He needs to replace two panels and the county wants him to get a permit to do it. It's removing two panels and replacing them with identical panels. Nothing structural involved at all. It's just another way for the county to get money.