Appeals Court Strikes Down Summit’s Vacation Rental Ordinance

7/15/2025

The state Court of Appeals struck down Summit’s (Wisconsin) vacation rental ordinance, ruling that the entity that challenged it was denied due process and that the rule was all but enacted as a zoning ordinance, without following proper procedures. In upholding a ruling by Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Maxwell, the District II Court of Appeals in Waukesha ruled for Wildwood Estate LLC, which sued Summit over its vacation rental ordinance after Wildwood rented out its property through an online company in 2018 and 2019 but then was forbidden under the village’s vacation rental ordinance. The ordinance, modeled after one in Oconomowoc Lake, required a license to operate short-term rental properties, for each company to keep a register of guests before allowing them sleeping quarters, and that rentals must be for at least six days.

Waukesha Freeman (07/10/25) Brian Huber