We’ve never had so few rights over our own property, and so many over that of others. I feel this acutely as I have waited years to be allowed to change a leak

We’ve never had so few rights over our own property, and so many over that of others. I feel this acutely as I have waited years to be allowed to change a leaky roof. It's still not fixed. I've also been waiting a month for a permit to fix an existing fence. I don't even know why I should need a permit for that at all. Yet I can show up to a planning meeting and complain that I don't like the applicant's proposed landscaping, causing them three months of delay and the accumulation of huge additional expense. It's ridiculous. I can hardly stomach doing basic repairs like this. Building something like a brand-new dental office seems unimaginably difficult.