Jacksonville, NC Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Section 10-4 of the Jacksonville City Code makes it unlawful to consume or display intoxicating liquor or alcoholic beverages in any public park, athletic field, recreation area, public building or other city-owned or controlled property. The ordinance carves out three narrow paths around that ban. First, property the city has leased to a third party through specific council action is exempt if the lessee files an alcohol management plan the city manager and director of public safety approve, along with proof of insurance naming the City of Jacksonville as an additional insured; a resulting permit cannot run longer than one year.

Second, the city manager can approve malt beverage and unfortified wine events on city property for 501(c)(3) organizations under the same alcohol management plan and insurance conditions, also capped at a one-year permit. Third, the city manager may issue a special consumption permit letting a permittee buy and serve malt beverages and unfortified wine at city-sponsored events, provided the permittee follows G.S. Chapter 18B, submits an approved alcohol management plan, carries the required insurance, covers any added law enforcement presence the plan calls for, and files the application at least twenty-one days before the event.

The city can immediately revoke or suspend any of these permits if the holder violates the article or permit conditions, loses a required ABC license, breaks another law, or if the director of public safety decides the crowd, traffic or alcohol-distribution controls have become inadequate or hazardous. Anyone convicted of violating section 10-4, including drinking without a valid exemption, is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor and faces a fine of up to five hundred dollars at the court's discretion under G.S. § 14-4.