A private company has seized public land and created an unregulated dump site in the Little Turtle neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio — and the city attorney tasked with protecting residents has refused to act.

In 2025, The Stonehenge Company constructed a 21,000-square-foot parking lot on city-owned land near Little Turtle Way without any permits or approvals from the city. That public land belongs to Columbus residents — not a private developer. Yet despite city officials being aware of the unauthorized construction, no action has been taken to remove it or restore the land to public use.

Just steps away, an affiliated company called Firewater Limited is operating what amounts to an illegal 3-acre dump site at the roundabout intersection of Little Turtle Way and Longrifle Road. The site — surrounded by homes and families — is filled with old tires, debris, rock, and waste. It is attracting vermin and poses a direct threat to the health and safety of everyone who lives nearby. Firewater only ever received a temporary permit tied to a road construction project that ended more than a year ago. That permit has long since expired, yet the dump remains.

The Little Turtle Civic Association has called on Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein to use his legal authority to shut down the dump site, remove the illegal parking lot, and enforce the city's own nuisance, zoning, and environmental laws. He has refused. The civic association has now been forced to take the extraordinary step of suing the city attorney in the Ohio Supreme Court just to get basic enforcement of the law.

This is not a complicated situation. Public land was taken without permission. An illegal dump is threatening a residential neighborhood. The laws to address both already exist. We are asking City Attorney Zach Klein to do his job — file injunctions against The Stonehenge Company to remove the parking lot and restore public access to city land, and take enforcement action against Firewater Limited to shut down and clean up the illegal dump site for good.

Our neighborhood deserves clean air, safe streets, and a city government that stands up for residents — not one that looks the other way while a private company pollutes our community and pockets our public land.