Heneveld named to Planning Commission

Mark Heneveld, long-time Sonoma Valley resident, was appointed to the Planning Commission last week by Mayor Joanne Sanders. Sanders, introducing Heneveld, said, “I take the Planning Commission very seriously, and have interviewed you not once, but twice.” She said Heneveld had undergone stiff questioning, and even though some of his views did not mirror her own, “You were steadfast in your views,” she said, smiling. “You were very enlightening.”
Heneveld said, “It’s an honor to serve the community. Sonoma has been good to me for 30 years, and now it’s my time to give back.” Heneveld, who is a carpenter and handyman, has worked in construction and redevelopment projects for the past 30 years, said in his application that he has attended “hundreds” of planning commission meetings and lists as one of his goals as a commissioner “to work in harmony with other valley groups and commissioners and locals for a sensible conservative growth of Sonoma and the Valley.”
What that would mean, he said in a subsequent interview, is “low cost housing for low cost individuals.” These would be people who can’t afford payment on a typical home in Sonoma, in the $600,000 range. “I’d like to see more equity around,” he said, explaining that he is a slow growth proponent. “We have to have growth, but it should be planned, thought-out growth. I hope I will be impartial and open-minded,” he said. “I’d like to see a way for it to be win-win for everybody, not just the lucky few who can live here.”