Former Assistant City Manager Mark Franz plans to use what he learned about development in Evanston in his new job as village manager of Homewood, Ill.

“There are no copyright laws with municipal government,” Franz said. “You can kind of steal ideas from other towns.”

Franz, an insider on Evanston redistricting and negotiator of new bus routes, left Evanston Sept. 12 for Homewood, a southern suburb of Chicago. In his new job, Franz said he hopes to mimic some of the downtown development plans that Evanston has recently put in place.

“To say I have a depth of experience is an understatement,” he said.

Franz said Evanston was a model for development, especially because of the restaurants the city drew to downtown. And Homewood, Franz said, already has the right elements — such as proximity to the Metra.

Although Franz said he was optimistic about his development plans, he said the southern suburbs are not a prime target for developers.

“With the south suburbs, the perception is that it’s not a thriving part of the Chicagoland area,” he said. “But I think there are a lot of developers now that are trying to refute that.”

In Evanston, Franz had a range of duties, including managing the parks department and the library. In Homewood each departments is independent, so Franz can focus on development.

After five years in Evanston, Franz said he is excited about his new job.

“It’s a very professional staff, and there are a lot of good things going on,” he said. “It certainly wasn’t like I had to come in and start solving problems right away.”