Different cities, different circumstances, and they work with contractors they've used for years in most cases.

This property was foreclosed by the bank and the city. 

Then once you have the green sticker from the city pay the balance.

I actually like the cities and find them super interesting,  enjoyable and fun.

From my moron contractor that lied to us he was licensed in plumbing and electrical.. that did all the wiring and plumbing and then covering it all up with sheetrock, trying to scam the city into thinking no one touched electrical, to not ever having a single inspection done, then stealing money from me, and running, and buying the cheapest material.. ever!...

Talk to the relevant city or county to find out requirements. 

My jobs are more like $500 to $5,000....and the public projects (city/state) and large commercial and new developments have work worth many times that amount.. 

Make a post here with names of other nearby cities, to hit some keyword alerts.

We have many different industries as well as huge companies (Amazon and possibly FB) moving facilities into our city. 

Insurance is always an issue and not sure what city/ county some requirements for a CUP to operate .