In my experience the AHJ decides the issue. Period.
Normally, ALL commercial is non-Romex.
Who is to say that a subsequent tenant won't use a soft lid even if Romex is above?
Residential is treated so differently because the owners/tenants live there and can find the escape instintively.
Commercial is treated to such a different standard because experience shows that when fire occurs most there do not know what is the best escape.
A perfect example would be the Rhode Island night club tragedy wherein escape routes all over the club were not used because none of the patrons knew that they were within x feet of an exit. Everyone tried to get out through the original entry. This is a pattern common to all commercial fires. That is why the bar is set so high in commercial.
The bar is set even higher in utility and chemical plants. The NEC is a slacker compared to the standards demanded there. This time the issue is pure economics. Assets, not people, must be saved. They are too costly to lose.
