Fauquier County, VA Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Fauquier County Code § 16-6(19)
- Where banned
- Areas posted 'No Smoking' by director
- Also prohibited
- Discarding lit smoking material improperly
- Fine range
- $50 to $1,000
- Jail exposure
- Up to 30 days
- Covers
- Outdoor areas and community centers
Summary
Fauquier County bans smoking in any part of a county park posted as a No Smoking area by the director of parks and recreation, and separately bars discarding lit matches, cigars, cigarettes or tobacco near buildings, vehicles, trees or underbrush anywhere in the park. Both rules sit in § 16-6(19), the parks chapter's fire-and-smoking provision.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or association using any park either to perform, or permit to be performed, any of the following acts: ... (19)Fires, smoking. ... No person shall throw away or discard any lighted match, cigar, cigarette, tobacco, paper or other material within or against any building, boat or vehicle, or under any tree or underbrush or in any place other than a proper receptacle for said material. No person shall smoke any cigar, cigarette, tobacco or other substance in any posted area designated as a "No Smoking" area by the director of parks and recreation. ... Any violation of section 16-5 (permits for solicitors and vendors); section 16-6 (prohibited conduct); section 16-7 (firearms, knives, weapons, fireworks and explosives); or section 16-8 (vehicles) shall be punishable by a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50.00), nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisonment for a term not exceeding thirty (30) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Full Breakdown
Section 16-6(19) covers fires and smoking together. It bars kindling, building, using or maintaining a fire anywhere in a county park except in designated places and receptacles, and bars any fire once a drought or dry-condition ban is in effect, requiring continuous adult supervision of any permitted fire. Layered onto that fire rule are two separate smoking restrictions: first, no person may throw away or discard a lighted match, cigar, cigarette, tobacco, paper or other burning material against or under a building, boat, vehicle, tree or underbrush, or anywhere other than a proper receptacle; second, no person may smoke any cigar, cigarette, tobacco or other substance in any area a director of parks and recreation has posted as a No Smoking area.
Because the posting is site-specific, the ban's reach depends on where the director has placed signage rather than covering every inch of every park uniformly. Section 16-1(d) defines park broadly to include any land the department owns, leases or operates for park or recreation purposes, including community centers, so the posted-area smoking ban can extend indoors as well as to outdoor picnic and playground areas. Enforcement runs through § 16-9(b) alongside the rest of the § 16-6 prohibited-conduct list.
Violations & Fines
Smoking in a posted No Smoking area of a county park, or discarding a lit cigarette, cigar or match improperly on park grounds, is a § 16-6 violation punishable under § 16-9(b) by a fine of $50 to $1,000, up to thirty days in jail, or both. Rangers and deputies enforcing the section may also refer repeat conduct for injunctive or abatement action under § 16-9(c).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I smoke anywhere in a Fauquier County park?
What is the fine for smoking in a posted no-smoking park area in Fauquier County?
Does Fauquier County's park smoking ban include community centers?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fauquier County
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