I only suggested a sheriff and such just to make the town feel a little fuller (and someone in uniforms too, cause that can be hot)
I'd likely add a town hall OR make the library also act as a town hall, a place where events could happen every so often, and have content with more of the town interacting. But again, your probably right, large character events can take quite a bit of effort.
And for the inconsistency issue, is why I suggested either requiring a micro SAD purchase of your own, which can take some effort to get, which would add a SAD to the menu right below stats, but also, make you auto adjust in certain areas, to enforce consistency in scenes and areas in a logical sense, maybe with a little mention of your size auto compressing as you enter so you aren't being taken out of left field by your size restriction.
And if you want to lessen the importance of the construction site, an option could be that doing the work on the construction site speeds up how quickly the buildings come in, but they will be done regardless of whether you participate or not. So it's a build speed booster, but not mandatory.
Of course, the building can only happen after it's been funded and approved as well.
Thanks for considering my words, and I am more than happy to share more words, discussions, and ideas in the future, as they come to me.