As garbage continues to pile up on the train tracks behind their homes, neighbors on South 15th Place are urging the city and railroad company, Union Pacific, to address the illegal dumping.
See neighbor describe piles of trash near Union Pacific train tracks
Anna Zarnowski and her neighbors hope the city and Union Pacific will collaborate to clean up a mess left by illegal dumpers in her neighborhood.
Rats, cockroaches and piles of trash are frequent sights for some neighbors living near Pulaski Park on South 15th Place on Milwaukee’s south side.
The alley behind their homes and the train tracks beside the alley have become an illegal dumping ground for unwanted furniture, car tires, shopping carts, gallons of motor oil and large bags of trash.
Anna Zarnowski, who has been living on the street for 10 years, said this has been an issue since she moved in, but it’s ramped up in recent years.
She said she filed more than 10 complaints through the City of Milwaukee’s Click4Action app and said she’s called the office of her local alderman, 12th District Ald. Jose Perez, about the issue, on several occasions.
“I love the south side. You want to see it succeed and be great, and at least just be comfortable and clean,” Zarnowski said.
“It’s not too much to ask for.”
Each time she calls or files a complaint, the garbage in the alley behind her home is removed. However, the train tracks are on private property owned by the railroad company, Union Pacific.
“The city says it’s not their responsibility — then it just sits,” Zarnowski said.
In several of Zarnowski’s complaints, she’s included photos of garbage piling up on the ground by the train tracks. Some of the garbage has been on the ground near the tracks for at least four years, she said.
“It’s a concern. You don’t want to have vermin around,” Zarnowski said.
Illegal dumping is impacting several neighbors
Christina Ornelas, 41, has owned a home on South 15th Place for 10 years.
When she moved in, she noticed garbage piling up on the street and along the train tracks.
“It’s like they clean, and then the next day there’s already a lot of garbage,” Ornelas said, in Spanish, adding that the waste on the train tracks remains even if the waste on the streets is removed, leading to pest issues.
Ornelas has not yet called the city about the illegal dumping near her home, but said she wishes the city and the owners of the train tracks could come together to find a solution to prevent illegal dumping, for example, by adding cameras to the road to discourage the activity.
The city’s Department of Neighborhood Services processes some illegal dumping complaints, but most dumping complaints are addressed through a collaboration of other departments, including the Department of Public Works, according to Jeremy McGovern, the Neighborhood Services’ marketing and communications officer.
Neighborhood Services can help mitigate the problem by implementing some preventative measures to reduce illegal dumping, like installing cameras and traffic control measures to prevent access to the area, sending violation orders, or teaching neighbors how to report the issue to the city, McGovern said.
While Neighborhood Services is willing to provide this support, the illegal dumping taking place on the tracks behind Ornelas and Zarnowski’s homes is primarily the responsibility of Union Pacific.
Steps taken so far by Neighborhood Services
On Nov. 24, the department sent Union Pacific a violation order to remove the waste from its property behind Zarnowski’s home on South 15th Place by Dec. 3, 2025.
The railroad company can still file an appeal, which must be filed within 20 days, according to the violation order obtained by the Journal Sentinel.
Failure to comply with the order or file an appeal could result in prosecution or fines ranging from $150 to $10,000, according to the violation order report.
A representative from Union Pacific said the company plans to remove the waste on the train tracks following the new violation order sent by Neighborhood Services.
“Despite several clean-ups over the years, and another scheduled soon, illegal dumping at this site is a challenging issue that often returns just as quickly as we address it,” Union Pacific communications manager Robynn Tysver said in an emailed statement to the Journal Sentinel.
The last violation order sent to Union Pacific for the train tracks behind Zarnowski’s home was sent in April 2021.
This resulted in Neighborhood Services hiring its own contractor to clean the train tracks and billing the private company $835.66 for the clean-up, which it paid in full, according to McGovern.
A year later, on April 24, 2022, the train tracks were once again filled with garbage, and Zarnowski said she filed a new complaint.
Union Pacific declined to comment on why the previous violation order placed on the company to remove waste on the tracks resulted in an invoice from Neighborhood Services for the waste removal.
Elected officials respond to illegal dumping on railroad
Ald. Perez said Union Pacific is “historically difficult to work with … they are not the most responsive to any concerns.”
Perez said while his office has no record of Zarnowski’s calls, if the dumping on the train tracks near South 15th Place continues to be a nuisance for neighbors, his office is willing to collaborate with Neighborhood Services on a proactive solution to prevent the illegal dumping.
He also said his office would work with the City Attorney’s office to hold Union Pacific legally accountable to address the issue, if needed.
According to McGovern, Neighborhood Services is also willing to work with private property owners, like Union Pacific, regardless of the type of property, to discuss solutions for abatement and compliance.
However, Perez said he believes these kinds of issues would be better addressed if city departments worked more collaboratively on lasting solutions.
If one department arrives to conduct an illegal dumping clean-up, they could sweep the area to look for other possible concerns to refer to other departments, which would help address issues before they become a nuisance to neighbors, Perez said. This would ensure neighbors don’t need to file several complaints before an issue is escalated.
“These systems aren’t talking to one another … the accountability even between interdepartmental referrals is loose,” Perez said. “They’ve got to fix the system beyond the moment and the complaint in real time.”
Zarnowski said she hopes the waste is removed before heavy snow falls and freezes the garbage to the ground for another season.
“They [Union Pacific] should take some kind of action on it,” Zarnowski said. “If it’s their property, they should have some responsibility in keeping things tidy or at least trying to prevent it from happening.”
How to file a complaint for illegal dumping on private property
Neighbors impacted by illegal dumping on private property near their home can submit a complaint through the Click4Action App or by calling Neighborhood Services at 414-286-2268. For non-English speakers, bilingual staff members are available to assist, McGovern said.
If the dumping is on private property, they should make a note on the app or inform the operator, McGovern said. If a neighbor is unsure of whether the waste is located on private or city-owned property, Neighborhood Services can help verify the property owner and file the complaint appropriately.
Once the complaint is submitted, the city can schedule an inspection to verify it and then issue a violation order to the owner of the private property to remove the waste if needed, McGovern said.
If the waste is not removed after a given period, Neighborhood Services can hire a contractor to remove the waste and send a bill to the property owner, McGovern said.
If a resident files a complaint about illegal dumping and it’s on public or city-owned property, Neighborhood Services can escalate the complaint to another department, such as the Department of Public Works, McGovern said.
Alyssa N. Salcedo covers Layton Boulevard West for the Journal Sentinel’s Neighborhood Dispatch. Reach her at asalcedo@gannett.com. As part of the newsroom, all Alyssa’s work and coverage decisions are overseen solely by Journal Sentinel editors.
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