He jumped into the job in January with a big-picture plan for addressing perhaps the most contentious issue in Zionsville over the last decade: how to develop the land just south of Zionsville’s gingerbread-like downtown business district. In the last decade, there have been at least three proposals for projects of various sizes with various uses for that area. None of them panned out. The typical result is that residents argue the proposals are too dense, would create too much traffic and would undermine downtown’s identity and power as a draw for visitors.

Stehr has proposed a master plan for the South Village area that could bring $250 million in investment over 160 acres, including new homes and apartments, office space and retail development, and road upgrades, while devoting nearly half of the area to greenspace. In this week’s edition of the podcast, Stehr makes his case for South Village and how he can win over opponents in coming weeks. He also discusses progress on several of his other campaign promises, including lowering the temperature of Zionsville politics. It became heated during clashes between former Mayor Emily Styron and the town council over personnel issues, spending decisions and reviewing the town’s finances. Here’s our conversation.