Zone Initiative Team

Columbus City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer, Jr. started the innovative new program called “The Zone Initiative” in 2008.

The program is designed to enhance communication between the City Attorney’s Office, the Columbus Division of Police, Code Enforcement, the City Departments of Health and Sanitation, neighborhood associations and other community organizations in order to aid in uplifting Columbus neighborhoods. A secondary goal of the project is to increase municipal court prosecutors’ and municipal court judges’ awareness of the effects of crimes on the quality of life in Columbus neighborhoods.

Working closely with the Division of Police, Code Enforcement, Columbus Public Health, Sanitation and community organizations, this unit focuses on the elimination of public nuisances that blight the City’s neighborhoods. Whether it is abandoned and deteriorating houses, open dumping, street prostitution, boot joints, excessive noise or trash and debris, this unit seeks to eliminate these problems. Using the statutory jurisdiction (R.C. 1901.181 and 1901.183) of the Environmental Division of the Franklin County Municipal Court, this unit will file complaints for injunctive relief, seeking equitable solutions to persistent problems. Mediation will also be attempted.

Steve Dunbar, Police Legal/Assistant City Attorney	645-4438	sdunbar@columbuspolice.org
Kristen Kroflich, Assistant City Attorney	645-8928	kmkroflich@columbus.gov
Jaiza Page, Assistant City Attorney	645-8619	jnpage@columbus.gov
William Sperlazza, Prosecutor/Assistant City Attorney	645-7479	wasperlazza@columbus.gov
Mary Edwards, Paralegal	645-8868	mvedwards@columbus.gov
Frank Gill, Zone Initiative Coordinator	645-8832	ftgill@columbus.gov
Anneliese Rankin, Paralegal	645-0766	arrankin@columbus.gov

In addition to the above staff specifically dedicated to this unit, one attorney from the Police Legal Bureau also participate in this mission.

Zone Precincts

Designed around the Columbus Police Division's organization of the city into five zones, City Attorney Pfeiffer has assigned an Assistant City Attorney to each zone.



The zone assignments are as follows:

The role/responsibilities of the Assistant City Attorney assigned to each zone include becoming familiar with the zone area itself, specifically the primary quality of life issues affecting the neighborhoods within their respective zones and assisting in addressing those issues through criminal and civil litigation. However, the program is still in its developmental stage; the listed responsibilities are not exclusive and will continue to evolve as the program progresses. Please be aware that the five zone Assistant City Attorneys ARE NOT CITY PROSECUTORS.

The City Prosecutor’s Office encourages you to contact the prosecutor assigned to any particular case that you may have specific concerns about.