Find who can approve what.
Record the parcel, jurisdiction, zoning, project name, applicant, each pending permit, and the official agenda portal. Separate city, county, utility and fire-district decisions.
Brighton source directoryNational community blueprint · free to adapt
Build your town’s
public record.
A field guide for neighbors who want dated sources, clear questions, and visible answers when a data-center project is proposed. Start in your own jurisdiction, then adapt each step to its rules.
Community action, grounded in evidence.
See Brighton’s live exampleFind the decision maker. Save the record. Ask a specific question. Publish the written answer and the date.
The eight steps
A blueprint any town can adapt
Use the local equivalent of each office, meeting portal and records law. Do not assume Brighton’s process applies in another state or municipality.
Build a dated document shelf.
Save applications, plans, staff reports, agendas and revisions. Log the original URL, publisher, date, and a descriptive filename; link public claims to exact pages.
See the Project Silo archiveTurn impacts into testable requests.
Ask for power and water estimates, cooling method, noise studies, setbacks, emergency plans, tax agreements and who pays for infrastructure. State what you do not yet know.
See Brighton’s questionsGet the existing paper trail.
Use your jurisdiction’s records procedure. Name date ranges, custodians, project names and document types; keep the submission receipt and any fee or extension notices.
See a request examplePublish a response log.
Give each question a stable ID. Track who received it, the send date, response date, answer summary, source link and next follow-up. Mark dates you have not verified.
Copy starter fieldsPrepare for the public meeting.
Check the latest official agenda, meeting time and speaker rules. Bring short, sourced questions and ask for a written response when the answer needs documents.
Brighton’s meeting guidanceHear neighbors and experts.
Welcome affected residents, city staff, developers and technical experts to respond. Get consent before naming or recording someone, and distinguish a person’s account from a verified record.
Our planned weekly showUpdate and correct in public.
Record what changed, when, and why. Link new written answers; protect private contact details; preserve the original source alongside a dated correction.
How this archive labels evidenceCopy and adapt
Make answers visible
Paste these column headings into a blank spreadsheet, then add one row per question. Keep the original wording in the row or link to a dated original.
Public accountability tracker headings
Question ID,Topic,Exact question,Recipient,Date sent,Send date evidence,Response status,Response date,Answer summary,Response source URL,Next follow-up date,Notes or corrections
Use “No written answer archived” only for your own archive status. Do not present an absent public posting as proof that an agency never answered.
A first records request
Subject: Records request — [project name] — [date range]
To [records office]:
Please provide existing records from [start date] through [end date] concerning [project name and parcel/address], including applications and revisions, staff comments, meeting notes, agreements, studies and communications with [specific parties or custodians]. Please provide electronic copies and let me know before incurring fees above [amount]. If part of a record is withheld, please identify the withheld portion and the basis under your jurisdiction’s rules.
Thank you,
[name and preferred contact method]
Adjust the wording to the applicable public-records process. Request existing documents; an agency may not have to create a new analysis to answer a question.
Outside perspective
Use the Municipality Protection List
With permission from Dr. Curtis Breville, this site hosts his five-page Municipality Protection List dated August 1, 2026. Read the complete PDF here, with credit to the author and a link to his original publication. Treat it as a discussion resource, not a substitute for local ordinances or legal advice.
Bring a documented story
Put your town on the map.
Tell us what project is proposed, which office decides, and which public document best explains it. We may feature well-sourced examples in a future national episode.