Larissa Darnaby is a land use and regulatory expert with more than 22 years of experience in municipal planning, zoning, building code enforcement, and development compliance. She began her career in 2003, typing Certificates of Occupancy on a typewriter, and by 22, had become what she was told was the youngest city planner in the country. Over the next decade, she served as City Planner in Jenks and Owasso and as Community Development Director in Catoosa, where she oversaw planning and development services, managed inspectors, signed plats, and directed regulatory review on more than a million square feet of built space.
After leaving government, Larissa spent nearly a decade representing citizens and business owners in the private sector. Working across rural Oklahoma, she witnessed communities being sold expensive, six-figure plans by out-of-state firms — documents that looked impressive but were unusable, leaving leaders frustrated and further behind. She founded Regional Development Solutions to close that gap, offering practical, Oklahoma-specific tools that counties and towns can actually implement.
Larissa is recognized for her ability to synthesize complex statutory frameworks — including Title 19, Title 74, and OAC rules — into plain language that local leaders can understand and apply. She is a graduate of Oklahoma State University, Leadership Jenks, and has served on the executive board of the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Planning Association (OKAPA). Her civic leadership includes serving as President of the Lions Club, membership in Rotary, and earning the Best of the Best Award from Tulsa Community College.
What sets Larissa apart is not only her technical expertise but also her local accountability. She is actively involved at the Capitol, deeply familiar with how Oklahoma statutes and legislation nest (and often don't), and committed to helping rural communities thrive.
As she puts it, "I'm not here to make a profit and leave. I'm from here. My name and reputation matter to me. I'm one of these people."
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