Dave Chapelle Threatens To Pull Business From City If Affordable Housing Is Approved

A new development by Oberer Homes was approved to begin construction Monday Night in Yellow Springs, Ohio, but not before a plan to include affordable housing in it was scrapped following complaints by several locals in the Monday village council meeting. One of the people protesting the addition was none other than famous stand-up comedian and village resident Dave Chapelle.

The development would have included 64 single-family homes, 52 duplexes, 24 townhomes, and an additional commitment of 1.75 acres of land to be used for affordable housing. Instead, the lot will now contain 143 single-family homes, which will have a starting price of $300,000. The area is a 53-acre lot on the south edge of town.

Several villagers complained about the affordable housing additions during the meeting, with concerns over traffic flow and water management cited. However, in a video uploaded to Twitter, Chapelle took a much more aggressive tone with the council when given an opportunity to speak.

“I cannot believe you would make me audition for you. You look like clowns,” Chapelle says indignantly at the start of his comments. He then said, “I am not bluffing. I will take it all off the table. That’s all,” before walking off.

Chapelle was likely threatening to take the planned business he is developing for downtown Yellow Springs “off the table.” In December, his company Iron Table Holdings purchased a firehouse with plans to turn it into a comedy club called “Live From YS.” He also is reportedly planning on opening a restaurant called “Firehouse Eatery,” so Chapelle clearly has enough financial stake in this small town for council members to take his comments seriously.

You can watch a video of Chapelle’s comments at the village council meeting below:

At the end of the night, the five-person council voted 2-2 with one recusal, so with no majority, the proposed affordable housing additions to the plans were officially scrapped.