Why Most Development Projects Fail Before They Begin: The Clarity Problem in Land Use

By Larissa Darnaby | Landmark Solutions

After years of navigating the land use and development process for clients across Oklahoma, I've come to recognize a pattern that shows up before a single permit is filed, before a single agency meeting is scheduled, before a single dollar is spent on design. The project is already in trouble — and the cause isn't zoning codes, infrastructure, or even the governing agency.

It's clarity. Specifically, the absence of it.

The Two Types of Clients I See

Clients who struggle in the development process tend to fall into two distinct categories. They look completely different on the surface, but they share the same root problem.

The Bulldozer. Forces a predetermined outcome onto a site without evaluating whether the site can support it. An adversarial approach to agencies increases resistance, which increases time, cost, and uncertainty.

The Unmapped Project. No alignment between intended use and actual constraint. The owner has a concept but hasn't established what the property, infrastructure, or regulatory environment will actually allow.

I recently worked with someone who came to me with a 10-acre property and a long list of ideas. It was his first development project and he was enthusiastic — which I genuinely love to see. But before he found me, he'd already hired people who weren't equipped to help him navigate land use: an attorney and an accountant. Neither of them could answer the foundational questions his project actually needed answered.

This happens often. Because land use is a specialized field, owners frequently rely on professionals who are credible in other areas but not equipped to evaluate site feasibility, regulatory exposure, or development strategy. That misstep can cost time, money, and direction before a project even begins.

Starting With Reality

With that client, before we talked about any of his ideas, I started with the constraints his land actually had. Within minutes, the governing constraints were clear:

• He was on septic and well water — not connected to city sewer or water.
• Well water may be acceptable for a private residence, but it is not permitted for commercial use by right.
• Any water-dependent business use would require going through the Oklahoma Water Resources Board — a separate agency and process entirely.
• We needed to cross-reference two key documents: the land use master plan and the zoning code.

Those two documents serve very different purposes, and understanding both is essential to any development strategy. The zoning code tells you what the land is designated as right now. The land use master plan tells you where the governing body anticipates the area going in the future. Together, they help determine whether a rezoning or special exception is realistically supportable and how much resistance the request is likely to encounter.

Once the actual constraints were clear, the project moved from speculation to direction. Instead of working from a broad wish list, he was able to focus on what the property could realistically support. From there, he could shape a development vision around facts rather than assumptions.

The Diagnostic Most Projects Skip

Most people approach development as a sequence: hire an architect, create plans, submit for approval. That sequence is backwards. The correct order is to establish constraint first, test alignment second, then design within what's viable.

Before spending money on design, consultants, or applications, a project should be able to answer these questions:

• What utilities are available, and what are their regulatory limitations?
• Is the property on well and septic, or connected to municipal water and sewer?
• What is permitted by right under current zoning?
• What does the land use master plan indicate about the area's future?
• What agencies will be triggered by the intended use?
• Which approvals are administrative, and which are discretionary?

If these variables are unknown, the project isn't early — it's already unstable. Skipping this step doesn't accelerate anything. It just delays the moment where reality corrects it.

The Foundation

If a project isn't grounded in constraint before design begins, it isn't moving forward — it's accumulating risk.

Larissa Darnaby is the founder of Landmark Solutions, a land use consulting and design firm based in Oklahoma. She specializes in site feasibility, permitting, rezoning, special exceptions, and guiding clients through the full development process.