Sister Bay, Wisconsin

Sister Bay actively regulates short-term rentals, defined as rentals under 30 days. Operators must hold three overlapping licenses: a Wisconsin Tourist Rooming House License, a Door County Tourism Zone Commission license, and a Village of Sister Bay STR License. The village license costs $1,500 a year, non-refundable and not prorated, running on a July 1 to June 30 license year with a fresh application required annually. The village passed three STR ordinances on March 19, 2024, building on a June 2023 zoning ordinance that set the key operating limits: no more than four rentable bedrooms without Plan Commission approval, and a hard cap of 12 guests. Owners who do not live within 30 miles must appoint a 24/7 Resident Agent within 30 miles, and property rules and emergency contacts are circulated to neighbors within 300 feet. Lodging is subject to an 8% Door County municipal room tax on top of 5% state and 0.5% county sales tax. Licenses can be suspended, revoked, or not renewed for ordinance violations, and the village has vigorously defended these rules in court: four property-owner couples sued over the four-bedroom cap, a Door County circuit judge upheld the village’s right to enforce it in August 2025, and the owners appealed to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, arguing it violates Wisconsin’s Right to Rent law, with briefs due in September 2025 and no confirmed resolution in this dataset. There is no explicit annual night cap or owner-occupancy requirement, so non-owner-occupied investment rentals remain permitted, subject to the bedroom and occupancy limits. Enforcement is classified as strict.