Citizens fight permit fees in San Mateo County, Calif.

A citizens’ group in San Mateo County, Calif. is fighting high building permit fees. “The cost of permits has gone up tremendously in the last seven years,” says a group spokesperson. “We are at the point when it is frequently cheaper to do the work than to get a permit. The permit fees went up 160 percent in 2005 from the 2001 fee levels.”

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