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Zoning board approves Lestock Properties subdivision and D1 use variance on Johnson Lane
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Summary
The Sayreville Zoning Board approved a minor subdivision and D1 use variance for 2515 Lestock Properties (Johnson Lane), allowing the underused commercial parcel to be split into three residential lots with conditions including a 12-foot side-yard requirement on the middle lot and compliance with planning/engineering letters.
The Sayreville Zoning Board voted to approve a minor subdivision and a D1 use variance for 2515 Lestock Properties on Johnson Lane, allowing the creation of three residential lots from an underutilized property that formerly housed Buddy’s Tavern.
The decision, made at the board’s Oct. 2, 2025 meeting, includes conditions: the applicant must comply with planning and engineering reports, construct frontage improvements recommended by board professionals (curb, sidewalk and street trees where required), and incorporate a condition that the Westerly side of the middle lot (proposed Lot 302) provide a 12-foot side-yard to meet combined side-yard requirements.
Why it mattered: the applicant said the property has been dormant for years and that returning it to residential use would better buffer an adjacent school and align the parcel with nearby R-5 and R-10 residential zoning. Andrew Mays, attorney for Lestock Properties LLC, asked the board to grant the application; engineer Joseph Uich said his office (Van Cleef Engineering) prepared revised plan sets and surveys supporting the proposal.
Engineer’s presentation: Joseph Uich, who identified himself as a licensed professional engineer and planner, told the board the application seeks to reestablish historic tract lines (creating Lots 301–303) and to apply D1 use variances for residential use on the commercial parcel. Uich said the three proposed lots would each be roughly 6,000 square feet — undersized for the B-1 business district but comparable to nearby R-5 parcels — and described the requested C-1/C-2 bulk variances for existing side-yard nonconformities and lot-area reductions. “We’re here tonight seeking a minor subdivision approval along with the bifurcated use variance application,” Uich said.
Professional review and conditions: a municipal planning professional recommended continuing sidewalk and curb construction along the frontage consistent with an adjacent property’s required improvements and noted that, because no buildings are proposed now, future building permits will trigger required site-level submissions (grading, soil erosion control, tree preservation and RSIS parking compliance). The board’s planner and engineer discussed balancing side-yard setbacks so the combined side-yard total would meet the ordinance; the applicant agreed to stipulate to the technical adjustment that yields a 12-foot Westerly side-yard on Lot 302.
Legal standard cited: the applicant’s testimony referenced the Municipal Land Use Law’s D1/D2 standards (positive and negative criteria) and case precedent in arguing that granting the variance would not create substantial detriment and would advance municipal land-use purposes by converting an underutilized commercial site into residential infill.
Public input and vote: the chair opened the public portion; no members of the public spoke. After closing public comment and placing the conditions on the approval (engineering and planning letters, the side-yard arrangement, and future adherence to R-5 standards except for granted variances), the board moved, seconded and conducted a roll-call vote; the board recorded affirmative responses and approved the application.
Next steps: the board asked the applicant to provide draft deeds and metes-and-bounds descriptions for municipal review and said the formal resolution will be prepared and finalized at the next meeting (the chair asked for the transcript to assist with drafting).
