Queen Creek planning commission approves site plan, permit for credit union

A new credit union could soon be opening in Queen Creek.

A site plan and a conditional-use permit for the proposed credit union were recommended for approval by the Queen Creek Planning & Zoning Commission at its Wednesday meeting.

The requests will now go to the Queen Creek Town Council for final approval.

The proposed First Credit Union would be located near the southeast corner of Signal Butte and Queen Creek roads.

The vote was 5-0. Commission Chairman David Gillette and Commissioner Leah Gumm were absent.

The site plan calls for a 3,541-square-foot First Credit Union office with three drive-thru teller lanes and a walk-up ATM. The conditional-use permit is required due to the drive-thrus.

The credit union will be built 250 feet east from the southeast corner of Signal Butte and Queen Creek roads within the Madera Retail Commercial Center.

“The intersection is going to be surrounded by ... Aventerra Madera (neighborhood) to the south. Across the street you have the newly installed Hancock at Hudson Station where your Fry’s and EOS will be located. Then to the north you have vacant Barney Farms anticipated for future use and then Heritage Acres on the other side of the intersection,” Nathan Warren, with the town’s planning and zoning department, told the commissioners.

Under the town’s general plan, the property is designated as “neighborhood,” which allows for neighborhood commercial centers, such as the Madera Commercial Retail Center.

“The proposed use, conditional-use permit request and site plan are consistent with the neighborhood land use category,” according to a staff report.

The site plan shows that the credit union will meet the minimum parking requirements by providing 14 parking stalls and the Madera Commercial Retail Center will install an additional 15 stalls across from the property, according to the report.

The drive-thru teller windows will operate within regular business hours, but the ATM will be open 24/7.

Warren said no member of the public attended a community meeting held May 19 to discuss the proposed credit union.

“Staff has not received any comments from the public whatsoever,” Warren said.

Among the staff’s conditions for approval of the site plan and conditional-use permit are:

• Mechanical equipment, electrical meter and service components and similar utility devices, whether ground-level, wall-mounted or roof-mounted, must be screened and painted to match the main color of the building or to blend in with adjacent landscaping.
• All roof-mounted equipment must be fully screened by the roof parapet.
• Landscaping must be maintained and in conformance with the town zoning ordinance, design standards and the approved landscape plan for the Madera Commercial Retail Center.

The site plan for the retail center was approved by the town in October 2024.

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