[Porsche-O-Phile]

You're not just paying for the drawings, you're paying for the skill and knowledge that goes behind them, as well as the design professional assuming liability for them - health & life safety, code compliance, etc.

$600 for a set of drawings is nothing in the grand scheme of things when it comes to construction. If you're grumbling about a few hundred bucks, you ought to consider whether you really have the resources for this project - especially if/when additional costs you might not anticipate start creeping in - have you checked what it's going to cost for plan check fees, permit fees, etc.? Those can often run more than the professional services costs.

Have you checked with the planning department? They may need a review and to issue an approval also, regardless of what the building department says. How about the fire department? Are there separate plan review processes or do they get handled by the building department and routed for all other applicable approvals by them as part of your plan review? (This varies by municipality). There can be others as well - you need to check all that so you don't run afoul of some agency who can make your life miserable down the road.

YMMV - we can chat more about it if you'd like.