How is there ANY wiggle room in "The following things require a permit," followed by a list of everything that needs a permit?
Yeah, we had one like that in our state a while back. At virtually every in-service class I attended where the then-State Building Inspector was the instructor, he (the SBI) would say, "We have a uniform building code in this state. It's the same code and it applies the same everywhere in the state ... except for [___]. And [name of BO], just remember, it's all fun making up your own rules, until you get sued, because I can't and won't back you up when you're winging it."
Well, the BO in question just laughed and kept on winging it ... right up to the day he was sued, and lost his job over it.