Bob Krut moved 36 years ago from Bethel Park to Buffalo to get away from the squeeze of suburbia.

That was the same reason he had moved in 1956 from Carrick to Bethel Park. At the time, he was able to walk home from school, get on his bike and "ride with a shotgun to the neighbors to hunt."

Today, he'd surely be arrested as a terrorist suspect.

But, when he moved to remote Buffalo, with its wide-open spaces, friendly neighbors and minimalist approach to government, he never suspected that one day he would be fighting ordinances that regulate everything from burning and back-yard antennas to noise and dust.

"Most people move here to get away from that," said Mr. Krut, who now finds himself living in a township of turmoil.

He was one of about 50 residents who attended the Buffalo supervisors' meeting Wednesday evening to support two new board members who were recently sworn into office after two of their predecessors quit.

Eight-year incumbent Richard Folle and newly appointed Supervisor Maggie Balsley abruptly handed in their resignations April 2 after dozens of residents turned out to oppose action on a proposed township park.

Washington County Common Pleas Court appointed Tim Doman and Larry Phillips, who presided at their first meeting Wednesday with Supervisor James Mounts. Youth home operator and former Pittsburgh Steeler Mel Blount also was considered, but the other candidates had more signatures on their nominating petitions.

Mr. Folle's wife, Denise, also resigned in April as township secretary but has remained wage tax collector -- an appointed post. Two members of the four-man road crew also have recently resigned and retired.

Several residents had complained about nepotism because some township employees are related to former supervisors.

During discussions at Wednesday's meeting, supervisors said they expected to have to pay higher wages for a qualified secretary and road crew replacements.

The park issue came to a head in April, but it was only the latest crack in a straining relationship between the previous board and townsfolk.

Angry residents had complained for months over a revised ordinance that would have limited noise and dust outside the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Though the changes would have raised noise levels to more practical levels in anticipation of natural gas drilling soon to start in the area, the 7 p.m. limit irked many residents who were concerned about $300 fines for running lawn mowers, all-terrain vehicles or chain saws, and even baying calves at cattle farms.

A group of volunteers reviewed the ordinance and recommended extending the evening time limit to 11 o'clock. Supervisors voted to table the ordinance until June.

That issue was indicative of a larger philosophical chasm that was forming between residents and former supervisors, who saw the township headed in different directions.

"Six years ago, not one resident had public water," Mr. Folle said. "Now, 52 percent have it."

But, Mr. Folle said, some residents still are unhappy.

"They do not want progress in Buffalo Township," he said. "My answer to that is, 'Why don't you live in a cave?' "

Some residents acknowledge that Mr. Folle is partly right.

"People value privacy, not development," said resident Ken Jasinski, who became involved in township politics when he was asked to obtain a building permit for a kitchen renovation project.

"That's basically the feeling of the whole area," said Mr. Krut about less government interference. "Like they say, 'If it's not broke, don't fix it.' " Until recently, building permits generally weren't required except for new home construction.

Now, little gets past the zoning and code enforcement officer, who ticked off a list at Wednesday's meeting of fines and violations issued last month for those who, among other things, renovated a bathroom or tried to build an in-ground pool without a permit.

Zoning officer Larry Chome told supervisors they should spend $10,000 to update zoning ordinances. He also asked for a $250 monthly raise, along with mileage reimbursement and a $25 hourly rate when writing new zoning laws.

Buffalo residents tend to be more like their West Virginia neighbors than their Pennsylvania counterparts in preferring an independent, self-sustaining lifestyle.

Many locals still make their own wine, raise their own hormone-free beef and hunt deer for meat. Children are taught how to bait a fish hook, ride an all-terrain vehicle and shoot a gun -- usually in that order. The township has no bars but plenty of churches.

Being out of work doesn't necessarily mean a trip to the food bank in Buffalo. Residents usually have enough property to find wild turkeys, squirrel and rabbit in their yards.

That was another reason that about 679 residents signed a petition opposing a plan for a township park on Buffalo Center Lane, next to the township building.

With 2,100 residents over 20 square miles, many yards already are park-like, said Mr. Jasinski, adding, "Your back yard out here is your park."

Residents mainly objected to the $66,500 expense to purchase 13 acres from John Ely for the park, which was to be completed in three phases at an estimated cost of $300,000.

Residents were concerned that taxes would be raised to pay for the park, and they asked that the township building mortgage of about $165,000 be satisfied before any other debt was incurred.

Before a township building was built in 2000, supervisors met in a rented maintenance garage, and before that in the kitchen of former supervisor Forest Clarke, who served for 48 years.

Residents opposed to the park also were miffed that former Supervisor Raymond Calvert purchased a seven-acre chunk of the same swath of property from Mr. Ely for a fraction of the per-acre price that the township paid.

Both properties changed hands during the same period of time, using the same law firm that employs the township solicitor, Tom Vreeland.

Mr. Calvert resigned at the end of last year because he moved out of the township. Ms. Balsley was appointed to his seat, after losing an election last year to Mr. Mounts, who is serving the first year of his six-year term.

At their meeting Wednesday, supervisors voted to table indefinitely the park issue and to cease work being done by a park committee and an engineering firm. They also voted to open the position of solicitor and invited Mr. Vreeland to reapply.

They suggested farmers could use the empty park property to cut hay, and neighbors said they would voluntarily maintain it. Mr. Folle previously suggested the site could be sold and is probably now worth more than what the township paid for it.

A longtime township road crew employee and former zoning officer, Mr. Mounts, who has sided with the majority of residents on the park, said he believed former supervisors lost sight of what they were elected to do by passing unnecessary ordinances and pushing for a park that the majority opposed.

But Mr. Folle said the township needed order and he's proud of what supervisors have been able to accomplish without raising taxes in 25 years. He said those who wanted the park, who expressed an interest in walking trails, tennis courts and ball fields, rarely attended meetings.

Mr. Folle said he wanted to thank his supporters, many of whom urged him to withdraw his resignation. For $150 a month -- he spent more just on gas to inspect roads -- it wasn't worth the aggravation.

"I feel 20 pounds lighter," Mr. Folle said. "I'm starting to sleep at night, and I think I'm starting to grow hair again."