June 10, 2026
By Tim Hundt
VIROQUA, Wis. – The Viroqua City Council sent a proposed short-term rental ordinance back to the Housing Advisory Board for revisions Tuesday, June 9 after a lengthy debate over how to balance the booming tourism economy with a severe local housing shortage.
The Housing Advisory Board has spent the last two years developing policies to alleviate housing pressures across Viroqua. The board recently guided a new accessory dwelling unit ordinance through the city council which aims to increase affordable housing inventory by allowing homeowners to build small secondary residential structures on their lots. The board is now tackling the short-term vacation rental market proposing new regulations to prevent those rentals from depleting the housing stock available for local workers and families.
Below is the draft of the proposed ordinance recommended by the Viroqua Housing Advisory Board. Changes discussed by the council still need to be incorporated and brought back to the council for final approval.
Alderperson Tanja Birke presented the draft short-term rental ordinance with an extended introduction explaining the board had worked for over two years to find an equitable balance. Birke explained the core philosophy behind the ordinance is to protect the local market from outside investors while recognizing the economic benefits of tourism.
“Basically the belief is that short-term rentals increase housing costs because it runs the market up which leads to housing shortages for people who live and work in the area,” said Birke. “Small family homes are often snapped up before you know and sometimes often by out of town people getting them off the market for people who want to buy an affordable house.”
Birke noted that leaving the market completely unregulated would continue to cause issues for working families but acknowledged the city still welcomes visitors.
“Short-term rentals are in many ways good for our town because they do provide tourist stays,” said Birke. “But if that were to be left unrestricted it will cause problems or continue to cause problems.”
Birke outlined the board recommendation to cap the total number of permits for rentals under seven days at 60 which represents roughly two percent of the city housing stock. Existing permit holders would be given first priority for the new licenses. The proposal also limits the total occupancy of any short-term rental to 210 days per year.
Birke explained the mathematical logic behind the 210 day limit to the council noting the goal is to favor full time residents over vacation properties.
“Some simple math if you want it to be at 75 percent occupancy that is 273 days,” said Birke. “We can make it easier for people to be a long-term rental landlord than to be a short term rental business owner.”
City Administrator Nate Torres stepped into the discussion to note that state law strictly limits how municipalities can regulate these properties. Torres explained the city can place a hard cap on the total number of permits issued for rentals lasting fewer than seven days but for rentals lasting between seven and 29 days the city can only limit the total number of days the property can be rented out per year.
The council engaged in extensive back and forth dialogue over the proposed limits and fees. Birke explained the board suggested a $300 application fee for residents and a $500 fee for non-residents.
“We want it to be harder for people who do not live in the area,” said Birke. “Because they are going to take their money somewhere else.”
Council President Steve Willis questioned the complexity of the proposed regulations asking how the city would even enforce the rules and suggesting the board was chasing a problem that might not exist.
“We are putting all these caps on stuff but then there is no guarantee,” said Willis. “To me this has always been a boogeyman, like this is a problem, and it is like no one has really ever been able to tell me like where it is a problem. This whole thing sounds like we are over complicating it to me.”
Birke strongly pushed back against Willis citing direct examples of outside investors changing the fabric of her own street.
“I have personally witnessed in my neighborhood two really nice like just normal old nothing fancy single family homes getting snapped up by people who do not live in Vernon County,” said Birke. “And then they are being held as short term rentals when they could be occupied by a family.”
Council members agreed with the need to distinguish between owner occupied rentals and properties owned by outside investors. Alderperson Kyle Bartelt noted that owner occupied rentals are less problematic because neighbors have a direct point of contact if noise or parking issues arise.
“I think it is more important to have the distinction between an owner occupied unit versus a non owner occupied unit,” said Bartelt. “If I have a concern, like hey you had a renter that parked in front of my driveway, and I could not get out. I know I can just talk to them.”
Birke agreed with Bartelt and also suggested the council consider lighter regulations for the downtown commercial district.
“There are a few short-term rentals in our downtown district,” said Birke. “We are not losing housing for short-term rentals in downtown so perhaps that is another tier to consider.”
Housing board chair Sonya Newenhouse attended the meeting virtually to suggest a few late changes based on recent data. She suggested raising the annual limit slightly to 220 days which equals a 60 percent occupancy rate. Newenhouse also urged the council not to place any caps on owner occupied short term rentals to encourage residents to earn supplemental income.
“We are trying to improve the access for all styles of housing, not just primary residence, not just affordable but all levels of housing,” said Newenhouse.
During public comment local short-term rental owners pushed back against the proposed day limits. Theresa Washburn who owns multiple rental properties agreed with capping the total number of permits but argued that limiting the number of days a property can be rented hurts local entrepreneurs.
“I do not think the city council is in the business of trying to put small businesses out of business, and I think that is kind of where that moves to when you start limiting those days,” said Washburn. “If we limit how many people come here we limit who goes to the businesses downtown so I am asking you not to get into the business of taking money away from small business owners.”
Lynn Kronschnabel who rents out an attached space in her home echoed Washburn and asked the council to waive or reduce the proposed application fee for owner occupied rentals. Kronschnabel noted she already pays room taxes and county health inspection fees.
Mayor Krista Browne strongly defended the need to regulate the market pointing to a lack of homes for families and a declining enrollment at the public school. She emphasized that shared market offerings like Airbnb were originally intended for residents to share their primary homes occasionally rather than serving as permanent vacation properties owned by out of state investors.
“I think back to the intent of shared market offerings like Airbnb and VRBO,” said Browne. “The idea is that we are utilizing properties longer than we might ourselves be always occupying them so we are going away for the weekend therefore I am going to rent my house as an Airbnb.”
Mayor Browne also encouraged the board to further refine the language to find the right balance between protecting housing stock and not hampering tourism and small businesses.
“Do we differentiate that style of using these short term programs in a different way than someone who lives out of state lives out of the country or lives even in the county somewhere else but owns a home here and is,” said Browne. “And then I think for the purpose here? Like we brought this up at the last council too, like how does an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) dance with that? How does it fit where like if you have an ADU attached to your house, like is it an ADU? Or is it a short-term rental or is it both? If you build an ADU intentionally for short-term rental? So some of these are just finding where that’s gray and clarifying it.”
Following the extensive discussion Alderperson Cyndy Hubbard made a formal motion to send the draft ordinance back to the Housing Advisory Board to incorporate the new suggestions including the 220 day limit a reduced $100 renewal fee for Vernon County residents and an exemption from the permit cap for owner occupied properties. The motion directed the board to finalize the changes and forward the document to the city attorneys for legal review. Alderperson Seth McClurg seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
The council asked for several key revisions to the regulations before the draft is finalized by the city attorneys. During the meeting, the council directed the Housing Advisory Board to incorporate the following specific changes to the draft. The final draft will need to be approved by the full council before it can become an ordinance.
- Increased Occupancy Limits: The annual occupancy limit for short-term rentals lasting under seven days will be raised from 210 days to 220 days, which accommodates a 60 percent annual occupancy rate.
- Owner-Occupied Exemptions: The proposed city-wide cap of 60 total permits will not apply to owner-occupied short-term rental properties, ensuring local residents who live on-site are not restricted from earning supplemental income.
- Broadened Definition of “Local”: The lower, discounted application and renewal fees initially proposed for Viroqua city residents will be expanded to apply to any property owner whose primary residence is within Vernon County.
- Reduced Renewal Fees: The annual permit renewal fee will be reduced to $100 for operators who are residents of Vernon County.
- Fee Structure Clarifications: Explicit language will be added to the ordinance to clarify that the application and renewal fees will be assessed “per chargeable unit” or “per parcel,” rather than allowing an owner with multiple units to pay a single fee
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