Pender County, NC Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Pender County Code § 28-30 flatly bars alcohol and drugs from every county park area: it is unlawful for any person to possess, consume or display beer, wine, malt beverage or any other alcoholic beverage, or any narcotic drug, in a park, and it is separately unlawful for anyone already under the influence of those substances to enter or remain in a park at all. Unlike an open-container rule tied to a specific container type, this section reaches mere possession or display, not just drinking, and it applies countywide to every park the parks and recreation department operates in unincorporated Pender County (it does not reach Surf City, Topsail Beach or Burgaw parks, which are outside county jurisdiction).

The section is part of Chapter 28, Article II, Division 1's general park rules, enforced under § 28-48 by park personnel, their designee, or any authorized law enforcement officer with jurisdiction over the property. A conviction is a misdemeanor under G.S. 14-4, carrying a fine of not more than $50.00 or imprisonment for not more than 30 days. The county can also pursue a civil penalty of $100.00 for each offense, recovered as a civil debt under G.S. 153A-123(c) following a certified-mail payment demand, with a repeat violation raising the civil exposure to as much as $500.00 per offense.

Each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense, and the director of parks and recreation retains authority to grant written exceptions for approved community events under § 28-45's general park-rules framework.