Older teens hoping to take to the streets of a northern New Brunswick community on Halloween may find an unusual bylaw standing in the way of their sugary pursuits.

The City of Bathurst has a long-standing, but little-known rule on the books that forbids trick-or-treating or wearing a face covering after 7 p.m. and blocks anyone over 14 from going door-to-door.

The council is now taking a look at the 2005 bylaw after a couple of families requested that they ease the trick-or-treating curfew and extend the age to about 16.

Coun. Kim Chamberlain says she wasn’t even aware of the bylaw until parents brought it to her attention a couple of weeks ago.

She says they will gather public sentiment on the restrictions and then possibly tweak the bylaw to “come up with a happy medium.”

Chamberlain says the time restriction can make it hard for some parents to get home, feed their children and get them out the door much before 7 p.m.

The bylaw carries a fine ranging from $80 to $200, but she says she’s not aware of anyone being penalized.