The Town of Florence Planning & Zoning Commission on Dec. 4 recommended approval, by a 5-0 vote, of a rezoning request from planned unit development to light industrial for three parcels at 7309 West Arizona Farms Road (case PZ-25-73). The applicant, MDI Rock, seeks to operate a retail decorative-rock and landscape-materials site with limited on-site processing and material recycling.

Town staff presented the application and said the 10-acre site meets the town’s 2022 general plan industry place type and that outreach included mailed notices and a neighborhood meeting; staff recommended approval with conditions to address buffering, circulation and design. Taylor Earl, attorney for the applicant, told the commission the project will reuse existing structures, provide a customer display and scales, and support construction activity in the growing corridor. "Crushing of granite shall be prohibited on the property," Earl said as a stipulation the applicant agreed to during negotiations.

Why it matters: The property is within a designated growth corridor, near planned residential development, and proponents say local access to materials will lower construction costs and support jobs. Opponents — documented in a written comment from resident Vincent Dobson and concerns from El Dorado Holdings — raised dust, noise and traffic safety worries because of proximity to future neighborhoods.

Key conditions the commission included in its recommendation were drawn from the applicant’s concessions and staff report: a prohibition on crushing granite; a cap of 140 combined hours per year for the site’s chipper and crusher, restricted to 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Monday–Friday; a 12-foot maximum height for rock piles; minimum setbacks and perimeter landscaping that exceed standard requirements along Arizona Farms Road; chipper/crusher location at least 90 feet from property lines and 120 feet from public streets as approved by the town; and a traffic impact analysis to be completed before building permits are issued, with required turn-lane installation if warrants are met.

Commissioners asked detailed questions about traffic, citing safety concerns on Arizona Farms Road, and about how the operation would be sited and managed. The applicant said comparable operations averaged roughly 150 vehicle trips per day and that most product would arrive from regional gravel pits and vendors (the applicant confirmed use of a local vendor, Vulcan). Michael Denny, president of MDI Rock, introduced himself to the commission during the hearing.

Motion and next steps: Vice Chair DeRosa moved to recommend approval, Commissioner Proulx seconded, and the commission recorded five ayes. The town council will hold a public hearing on Jan. 6, 2026 and will take the final action on the zoning amendment.

The commission’s recommendation includes language requiring the site to meet all town code standards during design review and to provide required right-of-way dedication along Arizona Farms prior to development permits. If the town council approves the rezoning, site-plan review and permit conditions will enforce the technical restrictions spelled out in the stipulations.