La Plata County, CO Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Section 38-5 of the La Plata County Code, titled Prohibited substances, sits in Chapter 38 (Public Places). It reaches property the county owns or operates, not private land and not the streets of Durango, Bayfield or Ignacio, which each govern their own limits. Tribal trust land under the Southern Ute Indian Tribe is also outside the Board of County Commissioners' code.

Subsection (I)(A) is the alcohol clause. It lists four separate acts: openly displaying, consuming, possessing and selling alcohol and alcoholic beverages on county property. Possession alone is enough, so a sealed bottle carried onto county property without a permit is covered the same way an open one is. The single exception is permission for an event: the alcohol must be properly permitted by the applicable governmental agencies for an authorized and approved event on county property. Nothing in the section creates a personal exemption for a private gathering, a tailgate or a quiet drink in a parked vehicle on county land.

The Board of County Commissioners adopted the section under C.R.S. 18-9-117, 30-11-101 and 30-15-401, and the text opens by saying it applies regardless of the general use of county property and facilities. Subsection (II) makes the county manager responsible for notice. Signs are posted on county property as the manager deems necessary or appropriate, following the requirements of C.R.S. 18-9-117(2).

Subsection (III) sets the penalty rule: a violator is guilty of a petty offense, and penalties under the section are cumulative of and not a substitute for any other criminal statutes and penalties associated with the activities prohibited. The section came in through Ordinance No. 2025-01, dated 02/11/2025 and effective 2/14/2025, alongside the neighboring camping (38-4), firearms (38-6) and other unauthorized activities (38-7) sections.