Comedian Dave Chappelle has bought several acres of land in his hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio in an attempt to stop a land developer from building houses adjacent to his home, according to WHIO. Chappelle reportedly bought at least 19 acres of land previously owned by Oberer Land Developers, Ltd. back in April.
Oberer Land Developers, Ltd. had plans to build a massive housing development on the 53-acre property near Chappelle’s home and claimed one acre would be used for affordable housing. Chappelle opposed the housing development on Feb. 7 during a public hearing at a Village Council meeting. The comedian was in the process of building a comedy club and restaurant in Yellow Springs, Live from YS and the Firehouse Eatery, and he threatened to stop the project if the housing development was approved.
“I’ve invested millions of dollars in town. If you push this thing through, what I’m investing in is no longer applicable,” he said.
Yellow Springs News shared a picture of Chappelle’s comedy club and restaurant plans on Twitter. “It’s official: construction will soon get underway for local comedian Dave Chappelle’s planned comedy club “Live from YS” and restaurant “Firehouse Eatery” at 225 Corry St.”
It’s official: construction will soon get underway for local comedian Dave Chappelle’s planned comedy club “Live from YS” and restaurant “Firehouse Eatery" at 225 Corry St. https://t.co/OW6brgMUo3 pic.twitter.com/UiYEgr3zbl
— YS News (@YSNews) September 15, 2021
Chappelle’s publicist Carla Sims told CNN that the land developers had no real plan for affordable housing.
“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.”
The council voted against the massive plans for the housing development and only approved building single-family homes on the land. On June 22, WHIO reported that Oberer Land Developers, Ltd had backed out of their plans for the land. They also noted that Chappelle owned at least 19 acres of the land. Sims confirmed that Chappelle owned the land but was unable to confirm how much land he’d purchased.