  We present late-time HST images of the site of supernova (SN) 2009ip taken
almost 3 yr after its bright 2012 luminosity peak. SN 2009ip is now slightly
fainter in broad filters than the progenitor candidate detected by HST in 1999.
The current source continues to be dominated by ongoing late-time CSM
interaction that produces strong H-alpha emission and a weak pseudo-continuum,
as found previously for 1-2 yr after explosion. The intent of these
observations was to search for evidence of recent star formation in the local
(1kpc; 10 arcsec) environment around SN 2009ip, in the remote outskirts of its
host spiral galaxy NGC 7259. We can rule out the presence of any massive
star-forming complexes like 30 Dor or the Carina Nebula at the SN site or
within a few kpc. If the progenitor of SN 2009ip was really a 50-80 Msun star
as archival HST images suggested, then it is strange that there is no sign of
this type of massive star formation anywhere in the vicinity. A possible
explanation is that the progenitor was the product of a merger or binary mass
transfer, rejuvenated after a lifetime that was much longer than 4-5 Myr,
allowing its natal H II region to have faded. A smaller region like the Orion
Nebula would be an unresolved but easily detected point source. This is ruled
out within 1.5 kpc around SN 2009ip, but a small H II region could be hiding in
the glare of SN 2009ip itself. Later images after a few more years have passed
are needed to confirm that the progenitor candidate is truly gone and to test
for the presence of a small H II region or cluster at the SN position.
