Trees, forests, hilltops and horses blend with picturesque homes to form the view for a quick drive-through the town of Indian Springs.

Mayor Steve Zerkis wants to keep it that way with adoption of the city’s comprehensive plan last night.

&uot;The intent is to build a quality town,&uot; he said.

Indian Springs is a town of about 2,300 who enjoy no property or sales tax. Minimum lot size in the up-scale town is one acre, but many lots are larger. Home prices within the past two years were between $400,000 and $1 million.

The city adheres to quality development standards. Most of the development in Indian Springs is residential. With adoption of the new comprehensive plan, Zerkis said residents hope to keep most business development on the fringe of the city.

Three years ago, Indian Springs held the first of a series of town hall meetings to gather residents’ input about what future they wanted for their city. That information was used to create the comprehensive plan.

According to Zerkis, most people wanted to keep the city basically the way that it is today, and that’s the overall goal of the plan.

The main theme of the plan is preserving the town’s environment.

&uot;The basic premise of the plan is to preserve, protect and enhance the environment of the town,&uot; he said. &uot;It’s about keeping things green.&uot;

One guideline of the plan prohibits destroying the topography of Indian Springs during any future development. Zerkis said residents want to avoid leveling forests and hills for clustered development.

&uot;We want to keep that environment,&uot; he said.

Preservation is central to the plan. The city hall was built in 1903, and Zerkis said the city does not intend to ever replace it.

Another element important to Indian Springs residents is the role of city government. With no sales or property taxes, the city does not have much revenue to invest in infrastructure. The city does not have any full-time employees. Residents volunteer to perform the duties of town hall, Zerkis said.

&uot;We just don’t see the need to pay for a lot of town infrastructure. We like government-lite. There is government, but with a light touch here,&uot; Zerkis said.

The second stage of the comprehensive plan is implementation, which will probably include adopting ordinances and investing in general improvements in the city, he said