Pewaukee council adopts ATV/UTV winter-access ordinance after extensive public comment

The Pewaukee Common Council on Feb. 17 adopted Ordinance 25‑03, allowing registered all‑terrain vehicles (ATVs) and utility task vehicles (UTVs) to operate on specified city streets during the winter season under state time limits. Councilmember Spencer introduced the measure following outreach with lakefront residents, the sheriff’s office and the Department of Natural Resources.

The ordinance applies only to defined areas north and west of Highway SS and is seasonal, aligning with state limits that the council said set the permissible hours for operation from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. The council voted to adopt the ordinance and waived a second reading. The vote was taken by voice; the motion carried.

Why it matters: The change affects neighborhoods that border Pewaukee Lake and responds to long‑standing local practice: residents who do not live on the lake have said they use ATVs/UTVs to reach public launches and to ice‑fish when trailering is impractical. Opponents raised safety, noise and enforcement concerns and asked the council to limit hours or the geographic extent of the ordinance.

Supporters — many of whom said they already use ATVs or UTVs to access the lake — argued the ordinance makes permitted activity clearer, reduces citations for residents and limits off‑road shortcuts through yards. Tom Kupp, Mike Pewich, Chris Winski, Charles Revai and others said the change would reduce the number of trucks and trailers parked at launches and provide a safer, more convenient way to access the lake for fishermen and residents.

Opponents, including Stuart Ellis, Nancy Notley, Anne Form Miller and Melissa Sipe, said the ordinance would increase noise and traffic in narrow residential streets, expose children and bicyclists to risk, and be difficult to enforce. Multiple speakers asked why the time window mirrored the state standard (5 a.m.–11 p.m.) and whether the council could restrict hours to narrower winter‑only periods. Residents also pressed the council on who would pay for signage and enforcement and whether the measure would spur growth of similar allowances in adjacent neighborhoods.

City staff and the sheriff’s office told the council the law already requires registered and plated vehicles and that operators must follow traffic laws; the city cannot set hours more restrictive than state law. Councilmembers debated the “Pandora’s box” risk of incremental extensions to other neighborhoods but also noted the practical difficulty of preventing residents who already use ATVs from being ticketed.

The council directed staff to place signage where required; who will pay for the signs was discussed during public comment but not finally decided at the meeting.

The ordinance takes effect following publication in accordance with state law; the council also waived a second reading at the meeting.

A final note: Several residents said they had been ticketed in recent winters for driving on or near public launches and expressed relief that the new ordinance should reduce those enforcement conflicts for local property owners and frequent lake users.