The community I live in, has quite a few building restrictions regarding roof heights, fences, attached garages, etc. My neighbor wanted to build a shop/tool shed next to his house and wanted to attach it to the exixting structure. He needed a permit to build it, if it was attached.
The building inspector told him to call it an "accessory building" and he would not need the permit. That is what he did, and did not have to pay for an additional permit.
What I find most interesting is that the city actually gave him a permit originally to build a 30 ft water tower! I guess that's only as big as a three-story building, but still, he must be pretty far out in the country to get something like that approved in the first place.