Like any contractor / customer relationship ...their must be a commitment from both sides.....to design a building ...give you plans takes time and money...but you are asking the contractor / building company to do all this for FREE
....The contractor can give you a cost per square foot that will be within 5 - 7% of his quote. Your issue with the coastal commission has no bearing on the contractor / building company...so asking others that make a living doing this to do it for free is ludicrous. I am a contractor and getting used by potential customers is very upsetting to me. So if you’re asking someone to do something you should expect to pay them for their services .