On Monday (February 7th), the council for the village of Yellow Springs in Ohio decided not to move forward with the affordable housing component of a new development due in large part to the concerns of its most famous resident: Dave Chappelle.
As reported by Dayton Daily News, the comedian spoke up during a meeting about the village’s plan with developer Oberer Homes to build duplexes and other affordable housing alongside single-family homes in a sprawling 53-acre area.
Chappelle threatened to remove his businesses from the community if he wasn’t heard, saying “I am not bluffing.” In December 2020, Chappelle bought a former fire station in Yellow Springs and received approval to transform the space into a restaurant called Firehouse Eatery and a comedy club called Live from YS. Watch Chappelle speak up during the meeting below.
This wasn’t the first time Chappelle voiced his concerns about the housing development. “I just want to say I am adamantly opposed to it,” Chappelle said during a December 2021 council meeting. “I have invested millions of dollars in town. If you push this thing through, what I’m investing in is no longer applicable.”
He continued by saying, “Oberer can come and buy all this property from me if they want to be your benefactor…” before his Zoom audio cut out. “The average age in the village is 49 years old. Without a school, you will not attract young families and this city will not live beyond the retirees that decide to settle here.”
Consequence has reached out to Chappelle’s representatives for comment.
As Vice points out, some residents directly cited Chappelle as one of the reasons they weren’t in favor of the development. “The elephant in the room is it seems nobody wants to discuss the opinion or influence of Mr. Chappelle,” said one resident. “I recall him mentioning if we were to move forward on this project, he would pull out his holdings in the village.”
Other villagers expressed concern with traffic flow and water management, but more importantly, felt that they were not included in the process of creating the development plan. After the complaints from Chappelle and a number of other residents, the village council deadlocked at a 2-2 vote, meaning that the zoning reverted to 143 single-family homes.
Had the plan passed, there would have been 64 single-family homes, 52 duplexes, and 24 townhomes, along with an additional 1.75 acres to be donated to the community for affordable housing to be built later.
Although Chappelle was born in Washington, DC, he spent summers with his father in Yellow Springs after his parents separated. After exiting Chappelle’s Show, he bought a massive farm there, and in the summer of 2020, he hosted a series of socially-distanced, outdoor standup shows in the township’s Wirrig Pavilion.
During the last few months of 2021, Chappelle came under fire for transphobic comments made during his stand-up special Closer. His involvement in nixing an affordable housing plan in his hometown certainly won’t do any favors for his reputation.
