Steve Wirrig, owner of the Wirrig Pavilion at 4866 U.S. 68, previously held Chappelle comedy shows at his pavilion.
On Thursday night, the Board of Zoning Appeals voted three to two in favor of allowing the shows, said Richard Zopf, zoning administrator for Miami Twp. He said the board expressed reluctance to hear any more similar requests.
Chappelle hosted socially distanced comedy shows and music events at Wirrig Pavilion starting in May 2020. The shows had been called “An Intimate Socially Distanced Affair,” and others referred to them as Chappelle’s “Summer Camp.”
Miami Twp. granted Wirrig a temporary use permit in May 2020 that allowed Chappelle to use it for outdoor performances until entertainment venues opened. It expired in June, and it was not immediately clear if there would be any further shows in that space.
Last year, when the application for the permit was filed, the applicants asked the township to place a condition on the permit. If theaters and other venues are allowed to reopen at full capacity, the application indicated that Chappelle likely would not need to use that space in the same way.
The new petition says that the conditions on this temporary use permit would be the same as the previous one.
Seating capacity would be limited to 400 people. Parking would open at 6 p.m. with the gates to the Pavilion opening at 7:30 p.m. All shows would be completed by 11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, and by midnight on Friday and Saturday.
Two locally owned food trucks would also be on-site, according to the petition.
Chappelle recently revealed plans for the comedy club he is building in downtown Yellow Springs. The plans include space for a restaurant and an entertainment space. Chappelle plans to call the restaurant “Firehouse Eatery” and the comedy club “Live from YS.”
Chappelle’s company, Iron Table Holdings LLC, bought the former Miami Twp. Fire Station in December. The station is located at 225 Corry St.
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