Dave Chappelle’s Team Denies He Helped Kill An Ohio Affordable Housing Plan

Mya Abraham
·3 min read
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Dave Chappelle aided in killing an affordable housing plan in his hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio, as reported by local news outlet, Dayton Daily News. During a council meeting held on Monday (Feb. 7), the comedian threatened to pull several of his businesses if the Yellow Springs village council decided to proceed with an affordable housing development.

Chappelle’s parent company, Iron Table Holdings LLC, has businesses currently in development including a restaurant, Firehouse Eatery, and a comedy club, Live From YS. “I cannot believe you would make me audition for you,” said Chappelle expressed during the meeting. “You look like clowns. I am not bluffing. I will take it all off the table.”

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Chappelle’s publicist, however, counteracted the report in a statement shared with CNN. “Dave Chappelle didn’t kill affordable housing. Concerned residents and a responding Village Council ‘killed’ a half-baked plan which never actually offered affordable housing,” she began. “Without question, Dave Chappelle cares about Yellow Springs. He’s sewn into the fabric of the Village. The passion with which he delivered his comments during the Village Council meeting was just as evident as when he fought to create living-wage jobs with his famed ‘Summer Camp’ for residents during the height of the COVID pandemic. Neither Dave nor his neighbors are against affordable housing, however, they are against the poorly vetted, cookie-cutter, sprawl-style development deal which has little regard for the community, culture and infrastructure of the Village.”

Oberer Homes initially planned to develop a host of single-family homes, duplexes, and townhomes plus an additional 1.75 acres of donated land for affordable housing. The home building company may proceed, just without the promised affordable housing component and other contingencies.

According to Dayton Daily News‘ report, a number of residents complained against the development, causing the council to vote against the revised “planned unit development” zoning, 2–2 with one member opting to recuse himself. Now, only 143 single-family homes are to be constructed with a starting price point around $300,000.

In December, it was reported by Yellow Springs News and Rolling Stone that Chappelle lives near the proposed location for the forthcoming housing development. Concerns were raised regarding “increased traffic, a lack of sidewalks and the general setup of the development.” During that meeting, the 48-year-old—appearing “adamantly opposed”—stated, “I’ve invested millions of dollars in town. If you push this thing through, what I’m investing in is no longer applicable. I would say that Oberer can buy all of this property from me if they want to be your benefactor because I will no longer want to.”

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