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Council approves vacation of West Illinois Street segment for Berry Plastics parking expansion
Summary
The Evansville Common Council adopted Ordinance G2025-06 to vacate a portion of West Illinois Street and a south-running alley to allow Berry Plastics (Berry Global) to combine and expand private parking lots; easements for utilities were preserved and the city secured commitments about future street improvements.
The Evansville Common Council on March 31 adopted Ordinance G2025-06, approving a petition from Berry Plastics to vacate a portion of West Illinois Street between Mary and Harriet streets and an alley running south from Illinois Street to the expressway to allow consolidation and expansion of parking lots for the company's nearby facilities.
The council heard from Christopher Wisher, an attorney with Stalking and Ogden, who represented the petitioner and described the request as a companion to a similar vacation on West Michigan Street. Wisher said Berry reserved easements requested by CenterPoint and Evansville Water and Sewer and agreed to commitments addressing possible future improvements to Mary Street.
Wisher said city engineering staff’s main concern was how closing or future improvement of Mary Street might affect Berry’s operations; he said the company had agreed to logistical arrangements and acknowledged it would manage impacts rather than expect special accommodations from the city. He also said the petitioners sent required notices to utilities and agencies and received one written objection to the plan.
No members of the public spoke against the vacation at the council meeting. The clerk recorded a unanimous roll call vote of 9 ayes and 0 nays; the ordinance was declared adopted.
The council left in place easements requested by utilities and included the petitioner’s commitments in the ordinance language to address future street-improvement scenarios. The petitioner said it expects related variances and other approvals before construction, and that work on Michigan Street parking improvements remains part of the broader timetable.
Ordinance G2025-06 takes effect as adopted; council documents in the meeting record list the reserved easements and the commitments referenced during the discussion.
