POLAND – Barbara Strout said she is confident she can garner enough signatures for a petition that would force the town to take a look at its growth.

The 30-year resident of the town and her husband, Byron, live on the property where he was born. They’ve seen a lot of changes.

Barbara Strout, who served for many years as the town Planning Board’s secretary, is specifically calling for no more new houses in the rural residential and farm and forest zones for the maximum allowable time of 180 days, and possibly another 180 days after that. She also wants a growth ordinance to limit permits for new homes to 48 per year.

To encourage commercial development, Strout is proposing buying private lots along Route 26, moving the dump there, and developing an industrial park at the current dump site.

Strout said a moratorium on building would buy the town time to revamp its comprehensive plan. Also in the works is a stalled town request for proposals from economic development consultants, who could suggest ways for more commercial growth and a wider tax base.

Selectmen have authority to place Strout’s proposals on the next town meeting warrant. If they decline, Strout needs the valid signatures of 197 registered voters to bring her plan to a town vote.

The Planning Board will review Strout’s proposals at its next meeting, on Tuesday, Aug. 24. The Planning Board and Board of Selectmen will hold a joint workshop on the issues on Aug. 31. Both meetings will be at 7 p.m. at the Town Office on Route 26.

Poland issued 75 home permits in the past fiscal year, according to Code Enforcement Officer Art Dunlap’s records. For the year ending June 30, 2003, the town saw 72 new houses. Poland was one of the fastest growing towns in Maine last year, according to state data.

“I do think it’s a good idea that we have some kind of growth ordinance,” Dunlap said. “There are a lot of people who agree with that. Just about everyone who walks through this office has some version of saying that the town is growing too fast.”

However, one selectman strongly disagrees with any curb on development. Selectman David Corcoran supported Strout’s right to pursue her proposal, but has consistently espoused his opinion that people have a right to develop their own property.

“I will not now nor ever endorse any moratorium,” said Corcoran, who co-owns one of the lots that Strout proposes for town purchase. “I feel it flies in the face of capitalism, free enterprise, and more importantly our constitutional rights.”

Strout also wants the town’s comprehensive plan in line with state laws and the town’s own land-use ordinances.

“Being in compliance with the state of Maine is like being pregnant,” said Strout. “You either are or you aren’t.”