Recommended first purchase
Preparedness Kit — Digital Edition
$14.95A single print-ready PDF that gathers the six most useful handbooks into one binder — formatted for the kitchen table, the public-comment podium, and the records counter.
The shop
A bookstore for prepared neighbours.
Everything important stays free. Paid Preparedness Kits package what's already free into a binder you can take to the hearing — or a paperback you can put on a shelf.
Plain languageFree foreverEvidence basedPrint ready
Featured Preparedness Kits
Start here this week.
Hearing Preparedness Pack
$9Saves about 2–3 hours of preparation for one meeting.
Need help today
Start Here — free.
The essentials. Read in fifteen minutes. Print in one page.
- Community GuideFree
Your situation, on three printable pages.
- First StepsFree
A calm orientation for anyone who just learned about a project nearby.
- Notice DecoderFree
Paste the notice you received. We'll tell you what it means and what to do.
- Prepared Neighbour ChecklistFree
The five-line checklist that lives inside every binder cover.
Need help this week
Preparedness Kits.
Hand-organized editions for a specific situation. Saves time; never locks knowledge.
Hearing Preparedness Pack
$9Saves about 2–3 hours of preparation for one meeting.
Preparedness Kit — Digital Edition
$14.95Saves about 4–8 hours of searching, organizing, and printing.
Preparedness Library — Library Edition
$29.95Built to live on a shelf for a decade of hearings.
Long-term reference
Cards & printables — free.
Pocket-sized printables. Wallet, fridge, binder cover.
- Hearing Survival CardFree
The three minutes at the podium, in your shirt pocket.
- Permit Response CardFree
What to do when a permit notice appears on the fence next door.
- Wallet CardsFree
Calls, deadlines, key questions — sized for your wallet.
- Binder MapFree
The frontispiece for any community binder. Tabs A–F.
Everything free
Community tools.
The same tools we use to build the handbook. Yours to use without an account.
- Evidence worksheetFree
A blank record sheet for the kitchen table.
- Complaint trackerFree
Keep a complaint moving through the right office.
- Public Records Request PacketFree
What to request, from whom, on what timeline.
- GlossaryFree
The civic words in every notice, explained in one sentence each.
Compare
What's the difference?
Every row is true of the free tier first. Paid editions add organization and a physical copy — never new information.
| Free | Hearing Pack | Digital | Library | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core civic information | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Printable at home | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hearing toolkit (speech, timeline, questions) | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Organized binder (single PDF) | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Complete handbook set | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bound paperback for the shelf | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Price | Free | $9 | $14.95 | $29.95 |
Still not sure? Start with a free handbook. You can always upgrade later.
First readers
We do not publish quotes we did not earn.
Reader testimonials will appear here once neighbours have used Before They Build in real hearings, records requests, and community meetings. We will never publish a quote that was not offered by a real reader who used a real edition. In the meantime, three slots wait.
Reserved for a first reader.
Reserved for a first reader.
Reserved for a first reader.