The long-running saga of the derelict lot on the northeast corner of Telegraph and Haste entered a new phases this week, as the city of Berkeley agreed to drop its lawsuit against owner Ken Sarachan in exchange for his agreeing to a series of deadlines to pursue and build a project on the site. “Basically, we are saying, OK, one last chance, we are going to clean everything up, we are going to have much clearer deadlines and obligations, let’s go,” said City Attorney Zach Cowan.
A proposal to build a new Walgreens on the corner of Solano Avenue and Colusa Avenue has spurred vocal community opposition. Around 50 local residents attended an informal forum organized by developers Agree Realty Corporation, where architect Charles Kahn presented designs for the project. “The community has power to extract concessions from this large corporation. They know if they’re coming to Berkeley, they’re not going to get a free ride,” Kahn said. “We want to know what you want. This isn’t a conventional building we’re talking about. We’re getting permission from Walgreens to go way beyond.”
The city declared Forty Acres Medical Marijuana Growers’ Collective a public nuisance and ordered it to cease and desist its cannabis operations by last Monday, Oct. 28. The city has been trying to shut down Forty Acres for a number of years since officials believe it is a collective operating in a commercial district. Only three dispensaries are allowed to operate in commercial zones: Berkeley Patients Group, Berkeley Patients Care Collective, and the Cannabis Buyers Club of Berkeley, or CBCB. Voters approved a fourth medical cannabis dispensary in November 2010 but the City Council has not yet approved a law on how to pick that dispensary.
A body found on the waterfront Wednesday afternoon was identified yesterday as Jerald Jacobs, 69, of Berkeley. Jacobs was reported missing on Wednesday, Oct. 23. The manner and cause of Jacobs’ death are still under investigation.
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