I think that the permit fees are supposed to go toward the expenditures that the city has in paying for someone to look over your application and do the appropr

I think that the permit fees are supposed to go toward the expenditures that the city has in paying for someone to look over your application and do the appropriate research for zoning, local impact, etc. With the salaries and benefits given to a lot of public sector employees it wouldn't surprise me if a big portion of that $500 pays for the salaries of all the rubber stampers that oversee the paperwork.