Sorry for the delay ... I'm a bit 'internet access impaired' these days.
I don't want to get too far off on tangents, but ...
This site, and Holt's, have had extensive debates over whether a range igniter is allowed to be on an SABC, or tied into the micro / hood circuit. The volume of posts alone makes the case for there being 'plenty of room for debate.'
The hood / micro circuit requirement has plenty of qualifications to it; for this thread, it's enough to note that the result is often another circuit.
I've posted pics here of a kitchen with 14-ft. of counter and only one required receptacle. The trick was to have the upper cabinets come all the way down to the counter top, have built-in appliance garages, etc. The end result was only a small area next to the sink where there was ANY "wall space." The same kitchen also had an island you could land a helicopter on - with code (again) requiring but one receptacle. I often wonder if the entire kitchen design industry is deliberately trying to confound the code.
Adding receptacles to lighting circuits becomes a problem with the 'energy' codes.
Now, I have the opinion that we save the "law" for absolute necessities, and not for when something is "not a bad thing." The latter is, IMO, an abuse of authority.
