Public Conduct in James City County, VA (2026)
5 rules for unincorporated James City County, Virginia.
Verified from official government sources
Skateboarding Rules
James City County limits skateboarding in county parks and recreation facilities to areas the director specifically designates for that use, under section 16-8. Riding a skateboard elsewhere on park property is a chapter 16 violation, and the county separately fines skateboarding on a prohibited sidewalk $50.00 under section 13-13.1(f) outside the park system.
James City County Park Skateboard Rule
Some RestrictionsJames City County Code § 16-8
No person shall ride or use a skateboard in public park and recreational facilities except in areas so designated for such use.
Loitering Rules
James City County bars loitering in the restrooms of its public parks and recreation facilities under section 16-9, alongside rules requiring restrooms be kept neat and sanitary and barring anyone over age six from entering the restroom designated for the opposite sex. A violation is a chapter 16 offense, punishable as a Class 4 misdemeanor with possible ejection from the facility.
James City County Park Restroom Loitering Ban
Light RestrictionsJames City County Code § 16-9
No person shall fail to cooperate in maintaining restrooms in a neat and sanitary condition. No person over the age of six years shall enter the restrooms designated for the opposite sex. There shall be no loitering in the restrooms.
Jaywalking
James City County requires pedestrians to use sidewalks rather than roadways under Sec. 13-26. Where no sidewalk exists, a pedestrian walking on the roadway must keep to the extreme left edge, or use the shoulder if it is wide enough. The same section separately bans standing in a roadway to solicit rides, addressing hitchhiking rather than mid-block crossing specifically.
James City County Pedestrian Roadway Rule
Light RestrictionsJames City County Code § 13-26
Pedestrians shall not use the roadways or streets, other than the sidewalk thereof, for travel, except when necessary to do so because of the absence of sidewalks reasonably suitable and passable for their use, in which case, if they walk upon the hard surface, or the main traveled portion of the roadway, they shall keep to the extreme left side or edge thereof, or where the shoulders of the hi...
Public Marijuana Use
James City County bars consuming, possessing or being under the influence of any controlled substance, including marijuana, inside a public park or recreation facility the county operates. Section 16-2(b) borrows the Code of Virginia's definition of 'controlled substance' and carries no built-in exception, unlike the neighboring alcohol clause, and a violation is a Class 4 misdemeanor under section 16-24.
James City County Park Controlled Substance Ban
Significant RestrictionsJames City County Code § 16-2(b)
(b)No person shall consume, possess or be under the influence of any controlled substance, as defined by the Code of Virginia, while in public park and recreational facilities.
Public Alcohol Use
James City County bans drinking or possessing an open container of alcohol, or being under its influence, inside any public park or recreational facility the county operates. Section 16-2(a) allows the director of parks and recreation to carve out exceptions through posted rules and regulations, but absent one, alcohol in county parks is off-limits, and violators risk a Class 4 misdemeanor charge under section 16-24.
James City County Park Open Container Ban
Significant RestrictionsJames City County Code § 16-2(a)
(a)No person shall consume or possess an open or previously opened container containing any alcoholic beverage, or be under the influence of an alcoholic beverage while in public park and recreational facilities, except as otherwise provided for in the rules and regulations promulgated by the director.
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