Chicago developers worried last year that construction projects would face bureaucratic snarls after city planners added a layer to the approval process. Builders already had to run a gantlet of officials on several commissions and committees, as well as City Council. Some now had to face the Committee on Design, a panel of experts who would critique designs and press developers to make improvements. “The idea of having another step like that was concerning for us,” said Jeff Head, vice president of development for The Habitat Co., a Chicago-based developer that in March presented, along with …
