He is not getting special treatment. If you look at any number of zoning violations which have made it as far as court cases and state intervention, extensions and delays are the norm, not the exception. This is mostly because the other option is the state going on private land and doing something. What is the state going to do, send in the demo crew to take down an outbuilding and incur the legal risk of doing so? Not to mention, no matter who the person is the headlines of “state bulldozes private structures as owner tries to raise money to appeal” or some such headline baiting bullshit will cause an outcry.

Septic fixes, out building permits, setback violations, all sorts of shit gets a pass. The state has a loud bark and tiny bite on zoning issue.