A group of Wayzata property owners has filed a lawsuit in Hennepin County District Court challenging the City of Wayzata’s recently adopted short-term rental ban. The case, filed October 17 under Court File No. 27-CV-25-18923, names the City as the sole defendant and seeks to block enforcement of Ordinance 852, which prohibits the use of homes for short-term rentals (STRs) within city limits beginning April 1, 2026.
The plaintiffs — Adlon C. Adams, 225 Manitoba Ave LLC, Olivia A. Adams, Wayzata Cottage LLC, and Robert C. Fisher, as trustee of the Robert C. Fisher Trust — collectively own several single-family homes in downtown Wayzata, including properties on Central Avenue, Manitoba Avenue, and Lake Street East. Each property has been used as a short-term rental through platforms such as Airbnb, and the owners allege they purchased and improved the homes specifically for that purpose.
Filed by attorneys Patrick B. Steinhoff and Bruce D. Malkerson of Malkerson Gunn Martin LLP, the complaint argues that the City’s STR prohibition amounts to both a procedural violation and an unconstitutional taking of property rights. The plaintiffs assert three primary claims:
Procedural Challenge: They contend that Ordinance 852 is a de facto zoning ordinance adopted without the legally required public hearing before the Wayzata Planning Commission, in violation of Minnesota’s Municipal Planning Act (Minn. Stat. § 462.357).
Nonconforming Use Protections: The plaintiffs claim that because their short-term rentals were lawful prior to the ordinance, they constitute “legal nonconforming uses” that cannot be retroactively prohibited under Minnesota law.
Regulatory Taking: They allege that banning STRs “goes too far” and unfairly diminishes the value of their properties, amounting to a regulatory taking under both the U.S. and Minnesota Constitutions.
The ordinance at the center of the dispute — approved in September and published October 6 — states that “no person is allowed to lease, license or agree to allow the use of a dwelling unit, or portion thereof, for a short-term rental,” defined as a stay of fewer than 30 consecutive days. The effective date was timed to coincide with the expiration of existing rental dwelling licenses on March 30, 2026.
As previously reported by Wayzata.com, the City Council voted 4–1 on September 9, 2025, to approve the first reading of the STR ban following months of debate over neighborhood impacts, parking, and enforcement. The second reading passed September 23.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the ordinance void, enjoin the City from enforcing it, and — if necessary — compel the City to initiate condemnation proceedings to determine “just compensation” for the alleged taking.
The case represents one of the first legal challenges to a municipal short-term rental prohibition in the west-metro area and could set precedent for how Minnesota cities regulate Airbnb-style lodging.
Wayzata.com will continue to follow developments in the case as it proceeds through the Hennepin County District Court.
WAYZATA — For Bob and Terrisa Fisher, the Wayzata City Council’s decision to ban short-term rentals isn’t just a licensing issue. It’s a $30,000–$35,000 annual lifeline they say has allowed them to stay rooted in the community they’ve called home for over half a century.
Editor’s Note: The video above features a 30-minute conversation with Bob and Terrisa Fisher, offering readers a chance to hear their stories in their own words.
Bob, 77, is known around town as “Shoe Bob,” the cobbler who mended soles for decades before selling his shop. His career began in the 1970s when he worked for the Engel family at The Foursome, eventually taking over their shoe repair department. When the Engels offered to sell him the business, he struck out on his own, opening Bob’s Shoe Repair in the old Wayzata Bay Center. For decades he fixed boots, heels, and handbags for neighbors, earning a reputation as both craftsman and community fixture.
In 1976, Bob moved into his house in Wayzata’s Frog Hollow, where he and Terrisa still live today. When a longtime renter moved out in 2018, just months before the Super Bowl, they transformed their lower-level walkout into a short-term rental. They invested nearly $80,000 to gut and remodel the 700-square-foot space, quickly earning “Superhost” status on Airbnb. Guests have included former Wayzata residents returning to visit aging parents, as well as snowbirds escaping Arizona’s heat. Reviews consistently praised their hospitality.
“We’ve always been responsible hosts,” Terrisa said. “Our guests have never created a problem.”
A household budget under strain
In recent years, Bob has faced a string of health challenges — strokes, a carotid stent, surgery for infection, and an ablation for atrial fibrillation. Terrisa has managed the care, while continuing to teach and trying to reach her pension milestone.
The short-term rental has been a crucial piece of their financial puzzle. “We’ve been using that money to pay off the mortgage and hoping that we could eventually have that money as profit instead of just putting it right back toward our loan,” Terrisa explained.
The rental now brings in about $35,000 a year — income that goes directly to cover their $2,400 monthly mortgage and escrow payment, along with steadily climbing property taxes.
“For people in this area, $30,000 is a drop in the bucket, but it’s not a drop in the bucket to us,” she said. “Life will just be harder — and it’s already hard. I live paycheck to paycheck. It will make a daily, monthly impact on my choices.”
Fighting with limited strength
Terrisa said she only had the energy to attend one council meeting this spring while Bob was in a care facility. Mayor Andy Mullin called to warn her the vote didn’t look good. “He was advocating and trying to get the City Council to have some leeway,” she said. “But they looked hard pressed from the beginning just to totally ban short-term rentals. And no one else ever reached out.”
That silence, combined with the sense that minds were already made up, deepened her feeling of being left out of the conversation.
East Neighborhood realities
The Fishers’ East Neighborhood home sits on a cut-through route for drivers heading downtown. Delivery trucks, tour buses, and heavy construction vehicles rumble past daily, along with commuters racing the stoplight at the top of the hill — people not from the neighborhood cutting through. “It’s just constant,” Bob said. “When we redesigned this level, we put our bedroom on the back of the house, because it’s nonstop.”
Despite those challenges, Bob says he has never complained. “I never said anything, you know. Somebody building in their backyard or community or whatever — I just thought, well, that’s cool,” he said.
That’s why the short-term rental debate feels so different. As yard signs declaring “neighborhoods are for neighbors” appeared, Terrisa felt stung. “I’ve been a neighbor for longer than the people with those signs up,” she said. “They didn’t come to me like a neighbor. They put up a sign. Should I put up a sign in my yard to talk back to them and say, hey, neighborhoods are also for property rights?”
Bob was more blunt: “It hasn’t changed my love for this community. This can’t possibly, no matter how many a**holes get in the way, people that aren’t involved with the community really, you know, I just, I love Wayzata…”.
A life of giving, rooted in Wayzata
The sting is sharper, the Fishers say, because of how much they’ve tried to give back. In the mid-1990s, Bob pitched a tent in his yard to raise money for Thanksgiving meals for families in need. That modest idea grew into the “Sleep Out” campaign with Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners, a tradition that has drawn churches, businesses, schools, and executives into action each November.
Bob’s Sleep Out Kick Off event from years past. File photo.
“I think it’s pretty close to $50 million,” Bob said of the money raised over nearly three decades.
IOCP’s records show the Sleep Out had raised more than $27 million by 2018, with annual goals of $2–3 million in recent years — meaning the verified total is somewhat lower than Bob’s recollection. But the scale is undeniable: tens of millions of dollars funneled into housing, food, child care, and transportation, and thousands of families kept in stable housing because of a movement he started with one tent in his front yard.
Now, the man who once led a campaign to keep other families in their homes faces the possibility of struggling to keep his own.
Ripple effects
The ban doesn’t just touch their household. The cleaner who services their rental will lose work as well. “It’s like she loses her job too,” Terrisa noted.
For the Fishers, their home has long symbolized permanence. “You’re taking away our house,” Terrisa said quietly. “Bob calls this his toe tag house, but it’s going to be difficult to make that dream happen if it’s hard thing after hard thing like this.”
What’s next
If the ban stands, the Fishers say they will comply. But they expect it to leave a monthly gap in their budget at precisely the time when Bob’s care demands more of Terrisa’s energy.
“We’re going to be impacted by this,” she said. “I’m on the side of, let’s find a reasonable response to the problems. The problems can be addressed. Wiping the whole thing out is not.”
For Bob Fisher, that irony runs deep. The man who once helped raise millions to keep other families in their homes now wonders if he will be able to keep his own.
Bob Fisher, the former owner of Bob’s Shoe Repair and a dedicated advocate for affordable housing, has been named the Grand Marshal for the 2024 James J. Hill Days Parade.
Asked about the honor, Fisher stated, “The way I was asked, it was clear I had a choice. I thought about it for a minute or so then I looked at Becky Pierson and smiled and said yes. But I actually thought about how in the heck was I going to actually do it. I realized it was a great honor and then I though about I needed to be humble and try to not shine the light on me but give God all the glory.”
Bob’s Shoe Repair
Bob’s Shoe Repair in Wayzata has been staple in the community for over three decades, owned and operated by Bob Fisher for 35 years before he sold it to Dave and Becca Young in May 2015 in order to retire from the business.
Known for its quality craftsmanship and personalized service, the shop is a go-to destination for residents seeking shoe repair and care.
Prior to starting his own business, Fisher managed the shoe repair service at The Foursome in Wayzata for eight years, honing the skills that made Bob’s Shoe Repair a trusted name in town.
Bob’s Sleep Out
In 1996, Fisher founded Bob’s Sleepout to raise awareness of affordable housing and homelessness issues in the western suburbs, supported by Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners.
From Thanksgiving to Christmas each year, from 1995 to 2006, Fisher slept in a tent in his front yard to draw attention to the cause.
The Sleep Out 2008. File photo.
The effort has evolved into The Sleepout, an annual event that has raised over $23 million and involving tens of thousands of individuals in fighting homelessness.
Bob’s Health
Earlier this summer, Bob suffered a stroke that left him facing a challenging road to recovery.
After spending several weeks in rehabilitation, he has recently returned to his home in Wayzata.
His return marked a significant milestone in his healing journey, and friends and family gathered to greet him with an outpouring of love and support.
The warm welcome from those closest to him was a testament to the strong bonds he has built within the community, offering encouragement as he continues his recovery.
In light of Bob’s recent stroke, a community-driven fundraiser has been organized to help cover the costs of adding accessibility features to his home.
The initiative aims to ensure Bob can navigate his living space with greater ease and comfort as he continues his recovery, and donations are being accepted via Go Fund Me.
Bob Fisher has one simple goal: to make a nation of difference makers.
Shoe Bob, as he is called, the owner of Bob’s Shoe Repair in the Wayzata Bay Shopping Center, represents the ability for people to help others, even with only modest means.
In partnership with Interfaith Outreach, Fisher motivates youth to participate in winter sleep outs to raise money and awareness of homelessness. According to Fisher, Peter Larson, a 14-year-old community resident, raised about $100,000 alone by participating in “The Sleep Out” last winter. “It’s amazing what young people can do,” Fisher said.
Over the course of 13 years doing winter sleep outs, Fisher said $10 million has been raised. To continue to encourage youth and philanthropy, Fisher is working on publishing a book to show what he has learned from his charitable ventures and to encourage others to make a difference.
Fisher has chosen to independently raise the money to have his book published and is accepting donations. In exchange for a donation, Fisher offers words, sentences and chapters for interested parties to own part of the book. For $1, Fisher will give a person a word. A paragraph can be purchased for $10, a page for $250 and a chapter for $2,500.
Anyone interested in helping Shoe Bob’s cause, can buy a portion of his book by sending donations to his shop, 905 E. Lake St., Wayzata. Additionally, visit his website at www.shoe-bob.com to make a donation via Pay Pal.
Wayzata’s Bob Fisher will appear on KARE 11 at 4:00 this afternoon to talk about his book, according to Fisher. He is writing his book “Shoe Bob: Heart and Sole” to encourage youth and philanthropy. Last week, Fisher also appeared in Jeff Strickler’s Star Tribune article “Shoe Bob’s tale is for sale, in pieces.”
You can also find out more info on Bob’s efforts at his new website: www.Shoe-Bob.com.
Wayzata’s beloved local celebrity and skilled shoe repairman, Bob Fisher, recently made a notable appearance on KSTP.com’s Eyewitness News.
The segment, aired on 11/21/2008, featured an interview conducted by Leah Mclean, where Bob passionately described the community’s dedicated efforts in support of the Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners (IOCP) Sleep Out.
During the interview, Bob Fisher shed light on the local initiatives contributing to the Sleep Out, emphasizing the collective commitment to making a positive impact on the lives of Metro’s homeless population.
The segment captures the essence of Wayzata’s community spirit and its proactive engagement in addressing social challenges.
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