Dave Chappelle Thwarts Plan for Affordable Housing in His Hometown Ohio – The Hollywood Reporter
Yellow Springs, Ohio is a small town with a population of less than 4,000, but boasts a thriving arts community on a large scale and is the birthplace of several celebrities including Coretta Scott King, John Lithgow and Dave Chappelle. This week, Chappelle halted affordable housing development in the village, as first reported by Dayton Daily News.
In July 2021, it was announced that Oberer Homes, a development company based in Miamisburg, was planning to build about 140 new homes on 53 acres along the southernmost edge of the village, due to the increasingly steep and scarce housing market of Yellow Springs. years. At the time, the proposal received some opposition; residents wrote to the planning committee opposing the rezoning of the area to include duplexes and townhouses, in addition to the single-family housing to which it was demarcated.
At a board meeting on Monday, February 7, Chappelle said, “I can’t believe you’re going to make me audition for you. You look like clowns. I’m not cheating, get off the table.” His threat involves his local business ventures, among which are the productions: the restaurant “Firehouse Eatery” and a comedy club called “Live from YS”. The actor and comedian’s company, Iron Table Holdings LLC, acquired the former Miami Township fire station in December 2021.
According to Rolling Stone, Chappelle stated that he was “firmly opposed” to the project during a council meeting that same month, saying, “I’ve invested millions of dollars in town. If you pass this, what I am investing in will no longer apply. I will say that Oberer can buy all this property from me if they want to be your benefactor because I will no longer want to.”
Chappelle reportedly lives near the location of this future development, and is not alone in lobbying against the project; Other residents also expressed concerns about traffic flow, water management and the proposed homeowners association.
The village council ultimately “voted 2-2 with one abstention on the “revised” planned unit development, according to Dayton Daily News, this is an undoing of the village’s original plan to include affordable housing in the development (which will last on 1.75 acres of donated land). Now, the site’s zoning will only allow for 143 single-family homes, which start at around $300,000 and will be ready for homeowners to move in as soon as 2023.
An agent for Chappelle did not return immediately The Hollywood Reporter’s Request comments.
