Franklin County, NC Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Chapter 20, the county's parks and recreation code adopted by ordinance on November 17, 2003, sets 31 prohibited acts for anyone using a park, recreation area, playground, ballfield, court, picnic shelter, trail or greenway owned or controlled by Franklin County. Section 20-1(26) is the tobacco and smoking clause: it bars using tobacco on a ballfield, court, track, or in a ballfield bench or dugout area during a youth game or youth practice session, and separately prohibits smoking on ballfields, courts or tracks and in dugout or bench areas during all athletic events, not just youth ones.

The provision reaches every county-controlled athletic facility rather than parks generally, and it applies during games, practices and any athletic event, not just formally scheduled competition. Enforcement runs alongside the rest of Chapter 20: section 20-5(b) authorizes the parks and recreation director, county employees and law enforcement to eject or suspend anyone violating the chapter, and section 20-6 makes any violation a misdemeanor, punishable as a Class III misdemeanor or as otherwise provided by state statute. The tobacco clause sits among related conduct rules in the same section, including bans on alcohol and controlled substances under 20-1(31) and on amplified music without a permit under 20-1(22), reflecting the county's approach of listing specific prohibited conduct rather than a general code of park behavior.

Because the rule is tied to county-owned facilities under section 20-1's opening clause, it governs county parks and ballfields regardless of whether they sit inside or outside a municipality's limits, unlike the noise ordinance's unincorporated-only scope.