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Heard a guy at a trade show say he lost a cafe over a $200 permit
I was at the LA Food Expo last week and this owner was telling his friend his story. He said he opened a spot in Echo Park and thought a small outdoor sign didn't need a permit. The city fined him, then it got tied up in appeals for over a year (he said 14 months exactly). He said the legal fees and lost business from not being able to advertise properly just bled him dry until he had to close. It really hit me that the small stuff can actually be the big stuff. Has anyone else had a run-in with a city permit they thought they could skip?
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marybaker7mo ago
Can relate, I once got a parking ticket for being six inches over a line. In my experience, the city never misses the small stuff.
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blakem136mo ago
Man, that's brutal. I just bit the bullet and paid for a similar permit upfront, even though it seemed pointless. It cost me a few hundred bucks but saved me a massive headache later, which is way cheaper than a lawyer. Sometimes you just have to eat the cost to avoid the real trouble.
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the_wren7mo ago
Totally get that. It's crazy how a tiny rule can snowball into a huge problem. Makes you wonder how many small businesses get taken down by paperwork.
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