Existing Equipment - Abandon in place or Remove?

Working on a basic retail fit-up project in MA and the building inspector is saying to remove (not just abandon in place) existing HVAC equipment that will no longer be needed, such as exhaust fans, RTU's.

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with this, wouldn't think there would be a requirement to remove them in any codes or anything.

Thanks

source https://hvac-talk.com/vbb/threads/2236947-Existing-Equipment-Abandon-in-place-or-Remove?goto=newpost