The Bloomington City Council voted 5-1 on a late-added agenda item to deny a resident petition seeking a new Environmental Assessment Worksheet for the Nine Mile Creek Corridor Renewal Project, with Councilmember Rivas casting the lone dissenting vote. The council's action reaffirms the city's original 2025 EAW and its negative declaration, meaning the project can proceed without a fuller environmental impact statement.
On a late-added agenda item, Council voted 5-1 (Councilmember Rivas opposed) to deny a resident petition seeking a new Environmental Assessment Worksheet for the Nine Mile Creek Corridor Renewal Project, reaffirming the original 2025 EAW and negative declaration.
City staff and consultants from engineering firm SEH walked the council through why they believe the existing review already covers the concerns raised in the petition, before the vote to deny it. The petition fight capped a night dominated by roughly 30 residents who signed up to speak, split between supporters and opponents of the broader restoration plan.
Residents lined up for two hours of public comment
Opponents argued the city is effectively clear-cutting roughly 40 acres of mature woodland. Supporters countered that restoring the corridor's oak savanna — a fire-adapted ecosystem of scattered oaks over open grassland and wildflowers — delivers long-term ecological gains that outweigh the near-term loss of trees, and they backed the contract awards needed to get the work started.
Roughly 30 residents spoke for two hours on the Nine Mile Creek restoration; supporters cited ecological benefits of oak savanna restoration and endorsed the contract awards, while opponents argued the city was clear-cutting ~40 acres of mature woodland, that voters were misled by the 'renewal' ballot language, and that public engagement on the savanna conversion was inadequate.
After the comment period, the council awarded two contracts to move the restoration forward. Staff addressed the 'clear-cut' and shade-loss criticism directly, laying out a long-term maintenance plan meant to reassure residents that the removals are targeted, not wholesale, and tied to specific restoration goals rather than construction convenience alone.
Roughly 30 residents spoke for two hours on the Nine Mile Creek restoration; supporters cited ecological benefits of oak savanna restoration and endorsed the contract awards, while opponents argued the city was clear-cutting ~40 acres of mature woodland, that voters were misled by the 'renewal' ballot language, and that public engagement on the savanna conversion was inadequate.
The Nine Mile Creek Corridor Renewal Project covers more than 200 acres of Moir and Harrison parks along two miles of the creek, with plans calling for 131 acres of woodland and wetland restoration. It's funded largely by the local sales tax voters approved in November 2023, with construction slated to begin in spring 2026. The group Restore the Nine has been the loudest organized voice pushing back on the plan's scope, and its website lays out its case for a more conservation-focused approach to the corridor.