Shelby County, TN Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Shelby County Code § 30-164, part of Article V governing Shelby Farms, states the default rule plainly: alcoholic beverages are prohibited within all parks and playground areas inside Shelby Farms. Subsection (b) carves out one exception. An organized group can submit a written request for a special permit to dispense and serve alcohol to its own members at a company picnic or special event. The board authorized to manage Shelby Farms decides where such gatherings may be held, designating the area, and the permit can carry reasonable conditions and restrictions on how long the event runs and how much space it occupies, aimed at protecting the park and the public's continued use of it.

Article V's stated purpose, set out in § 30-161, is to maintain public order and provide for use and enjoyment of Shelby Farms, and its rules apply only within that park's boundaries, not countywide and not in Memphis, which runs its own parks under a separate city code. Shelby Farms has been managed by the nonprofit Shelby Farms Park Conservancy since March 2, 2007 under Resolution No. 37, after the Shelby Farms Board managed it from 1994 to 2007 under Ord. No. 145. Article V does not set its own fine for a § 30-164 violation, so the countywide general penalty in Code § 1-4 controls. Enforcement of the whole article, including this section, rests with the county sheriff's department under § 30-169.