Planning and Zoning Commission recommends expansion of Rank and Farm sand-and-gravel operation

FLORENCE, Ariz. — On Sept. 18, 2025, the Town of Florence Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-0 to recommend approval of a major general plan amendment (Case PZ-25-38) to permit expansion of an existing sand-and-gravel mining operation known in the hearing as the Rank and Farm project.

The amendment would change portions of the 2022 Florence General Plan from suburban neighborhood, highway mixed-use and open space place types to an industry district place type and expand the town’s aggregate resources overlay to cover the subject parcels, enabling the operator to grow a mining area described by the applicant as increasing from roughly 60 acres to approximately 250 acres.

Town staff and the applicant said the site is located between the north bank of the Gila River and south of Hunt Highway, north of the South Side Canal and about a half-mile west of Pinal Parkway. Applicant representatives told commissioners the expanded area is privately owned and that much of the proposed mining will remain within the hundred-year floodplain; the applicant described plans for a berm and riprap armoring to limit floodwater entering the pit.

The applicant’s representative, Paul Gilbert, said the project would continue an existing local source of aggregate that developers need for roads and buildings and that keeping operations local reduces hauling costs. “We’re providing the needed sand and gravel for further growth,” Gilbert said. He also noted a letter of support from Merrill Ranch in the application file.

Engineer Rich Brown of Haley & Aldrich answered technical questions about flood risk and site protection. Brown told commissioners the berm and riprap are designed so “when the flood comes at that point, it will not into the pit area or the property. It will…keep the river in the river and not oppose any other properties.” He also said a sliver of the parcel shown inside the river will not be mined and that the berm alignment will follow the natural channel so as not to divert flow.

Commissioners and the applicant discussed several operational details asked about by the board. The applicant said the operation will not increase truck traffic relative to current operations, that processing (crushing and screening) will remain inside the disturbed pit area, and that the site currently has an on-site well for nonexpanded water use; sanitary sewer would be limited to staff facilities. The applicant also confirmed that any asphalt plant on site would use the mine’s aggregate and bring oil as the binder rather than bringing aggregate from elsewhere.

The applicant said state reclamation requirements apply and that a reclamation bond will be posted when the reclamation plan is filed. “We will be required to post a bond to meet the requirements of ASMI when we filed the reclamation plan,” the applicant said; staff and the applicant described that bond as a state (not a town) requirement to fund site reclamation at the end of mining.

A commissioner asked how long the mine life would be; the applicant estimated roughly 20 years depending on market demand. Commissioners pressed on floodplain impacts, overburden (the applicant said overburden would be stored in berms on site and reused during reclamation), and road access (applicant said Poston Butte Loop and existing gated access would remain the working access points and not be altered).

No members of the public spoke during the formal public hearing on this item.

After the presentation and questions, a motion to forward a recommendation of approval passed by a 4-0 vote. The Commission’s action was a recommendation to the Town Council; the council will still consider the proposal and any related rezoning or conditional-use permits required for mining operations.

The record from the meeting includes technical clarifications requested and provided about the site's relationship to the Gila River floodway and the applicant’s obligations under state reclamation practice; those clarifications were entered into the record during the hearing and referenced in staff and applicant remarks.