No, I don't think that's the reason. This is a technical definition problem, at least in the jurdisdictions where I've worked.
Condensate from any source is "non contact process water" and process water is not allowed into a sanitary sewer (or storm sewer, for that matter) without going through an industrial pretreatment first.
I don't think you're going to get around that with the building inspector, though you and he both know it's kind of silly in this case.
Your right but what happens during the winter? The P-trap dries out and now you can suck in sewer gases. Some times you can get away with running your condensate line into a vent pipe when you have a small pressure valve that keeps your P-trap full of water.
Isn't that backwards? What understandable references I find to "non contact process water" (as in condensate from cooling towers) imply that it is essentially pure water and should be protected from contaminants, not the reverse.
And at least in jurisdictions I've been there's a very definite difference in code application in residential vis a vis commercial/manufacturing environment.
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