The Florence Planning and Zoning Commission on a public-hearing night heard a proposal to amend the town’s 2022 General Plan to allow expansion of the Rankin sand-and-gravel mine from about 60 acres to roughly 250 acres. The hearing, held during the commission’s regular meeting, was informational only; the commission did not vote on the amendment. For the record, Andy Jochims, planning consultant for Gilbert Blythe, presented on behalf of the Rankin family and said the application would add the industry district place type and expand the aggregate-resources overlay to support the larger mining footprint. “We are proposing a major general plan amendment to expand the existing sand and gravel…operations that are currently on the ground,” Jochims said. Eric Muir, a consulting geologist on the project, said most of the mine’s product will be consumed locally and noted transport costs rise rapidly with distance: “Aggregates are extremely heavy. So they double in price about every 10 miles we haul,” he said. Commissioners and members of the public asked about floodplain effects, cultural-resource studies and reclamation. A commissioner raised concerns that the proposed armored berm along the north bank of the Gila River could alter 100-year floodplain storage; project presenters said the town is administering floodplain review and that the project is designed not to cause upstream or downstream impacts. Presenters said the armored berm is intended to protect mining operations from flood flows and to provide a visual buffer, and that the mine pit and berm would be engineered not to divert or increase flood elevations. On reclamation, Muir said the operation will have an updated reclamation plan and a bond to guarantee restoration after mining ends; he said post-mining land uses would be determined with community input and that state reclamation procedures require review of draft plans before permit award. A resident who attended the outreach meeting asked whether Rankin sells material directly to local contractors or the town; Muir replied that the operator sells to contractors, developers and public agencies and that most sales occur within roughly a 10-mile radius. Commissioners and staff noted that technical permits required for mining—including state reclamation permits and any ADOT certification needed to sell material for state-funded projects—will be addressed later in the process. The commission chair reminded the public that this hearing was the first of two required hearings for a major general plan amendment and that no decision would be made that evening; concurrent conditional-use and material-source permit applications have been filed and will return to the commission for subsequent review if the general-plan amendment proceeds.