Civic Consulting Alliance is playing a key role in the Cut the Tape initiative to help the City accelerate its approval processes for real estate development projects. We leveraged our expertise to help the Mayor’s Office research best practices from peer cities, gather and synthesize input from stakeholders, and work with 14 City departments to refine the list of high-impact solutions. This collaboration resulted in the Cut the Tape report of 100+ solutions to significantly speed up the development approval process and position Chicago to better support investments by small businesses, entrepreneurs, developers, and corporations. Civic Consulting Alliance is continuing to support the City in the implementation of this ambitious set of recommendations.

Chicago needs more affordable housing and more vibrant commercial corridors across the city, particularly on the South and West Sides. According to the City, there is an affordable housing gap of more than 120,000 homes, and some commercial corridors have storefront vacancy rates as high as 43 percent. This is a complex issue with many contributing factors such as historical disinvestment, macroeconomic trends, and pandemic recovery. However, there is a critical overarching challenge that developers and businesses of all sizes have identified as a major pain point blocking development: the City’s complex approval process. 

The current real estate development approval process, while well-intentioned, can involve a dozen departments and results in a burdensome and costly undertaking. The complex system also favors those who have more time and money to navigate the lengthy planning and entitlements process, including the legal work necessary to obtain approvals. This creates additional barriers for smaller firms that have limited resources and connections. 

Rethinking the City’s development approval process requires a long-term, comprehensive approach. Civic Consulting Alliance was engaged by the Deputy Mayor of Business and Neighborhood Development as a trusted pro bono partner that could help build recommendations and sustain the momentum necessary to implement the systems-level changes needed to speed up the City’s approval process.

Identifying inefficiencies and best practices from peer cities 

In December 2023, Mayor Johnson signed an executive order mandating City departments to propose changes to streamline processes and incentivize commercial and housing development. This executive order formalized the City’s efforts to advance process improvement as an integral part of the Johnson Administration’s housing and neighborhood development strategy. 

Leading up to this executive order, Civic Consulting Alliance staff supported the City in identifying and prioritizing efficiency improvements for development processes. We conducted peer research, City staff interviews, and external stakeholder focus groups to understand the root causes (cultural, policy, resource-based) and control factors (internal vs. legislative) to identify inefficiencies.

Our research helped form a preliminary list of solutions, and we worked with City staff and key stakeholders to refine and prioritize 300 solutions down to 107 that would have the highest impact. In all, the final Cut the Tape report reflected insights gathered from more than 100 City staff, 90 external stakeholders, and six peer cities. To prepare for the report’s release, our pro bono partner Avoq provided thought partnership around key messages and communications with a focus on messages that would reach and resonate with real estate developers.

“Civic Consulting Alliance was instrumental in getting the Cut the Tape initiative off the ground quickly. Their in-depth research on peer cities and insightful stakeholder engagement helped us identify ways to streamline the City’s real estate development process. This not only saved us valuable time but also ensured we targeted the highest-impact solutions that will lead to more affordable housing and vibrant commercial corridors throughout Chicago.” – Kenya Merritt, Deputy Mayor of Business and Neighborhood Development, City of Chicago

---

The City’s new roadmap to speed up real estate development

The Cut the Tape report was released on April 5, and includes 107 recommendations that include both quick wins that can be completed in as little as three months, and 10 Big Bets that are time-intensive strategies that will lead to a more efficient and equitable development approval process. 

Broadly, recommendations include: making key enhancements in communication and accountability across departments; optimizing City resources to improve staffing levels, technology, and technical assistance; and eliminating redundant steps and burdensome requirements throughout the approval process. Block Club Chicago’s article “Mayor Plans To Boost Housing, Business Development By Cutting Red Tape” provides insight into a few specific recommendations, such as why the minimum parking requirement is burdensome and should be eliminated.

The City’s “10 Big Bets” include creating a new Director of Process Improvement role in the Mayor’s Office; initiating expedited reviews for affordable housing projects; adopting transformational zoning changes; and streamlining design reviews. Once implemented, the solutions will have a significant positive impact on how projects are scoped and designed with more intentional government intervention, which is being celebrated by affordable housing advocates and developers.

Quick wins for developers and our continued support:

Civic Consulting Alliance continues to be engaged in the Cut the Tape initiative to help the Mayor’s Office move to implement many of the 107 recommendations. Read Crain’s Chicago Business article, “Johnson unveils plan to cut red tape for real estate developers” to get perspective on why the Johnson administration is well-positioned to quickly follow through on many of the process improvement recommendations in the coming months.

Based on Civic Consulting Alliance’s pro bono investments in this critical initiative, the City has already announced significant movement, including:  

• Streamlined the design review for specific development types, which reduces the number of people who give feedback and cuts down on conflicting information sent back to developers to provide ongoing guidance
• Launched the Cut the Tape Task Force with nearly 50 development leaders
• Hired the first Director of Process Improvement. 

Since the launch of the Report, our team helped build a way to track progress on the 107 solutions, advised on the governance of the task force, and is currently accelerating momentum on three Big Bet recommendations from the Report:

• Initiate expedited reviews for affordable housing projects; 
• Evaluate the feasibility of reducing the administrative burden of the City’s Economic Disclosure Statement; and
• Evaluate the feasibility of streamlining the Community Development Commission and Chicago Plan Commission.
  

---