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HARBOR GATEWAY, Calif. (KTLA) -- A South Bay church is collecting signatures to try to prevent a new strip club from opening just a few blocks away.
The Bay Girls Gentleman's Club is set to open its doors next week at Hamilton Avenue and Del Amo Boulevard in Harbor Gateway.
It would be the second strip club near the church. An existing club called the "Spearmint Rhino" is less than a mile away from Bay Girls.
Members of the Cavalry Chapel South Bay say they have moral issues with the club, and it is not welcome in their neighborhood.
They have collected over 3,000 signatures in a petition drive.
The church has handed over the signatures to Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.
Thomas has expressed concerns about the close proximity of the two clubs.
He has asked the L.A. County Department of Regional Planning to revisit ordinances governing the proximity of adult entertainment venues to places like churches and schools.
Currently, there are no restrictions on the concentration of strip clubs in any one area, but Ridley-Thomas has also asked the regional planning department to reconsider that issue.
The department approved a conditional-use permit for Bay Girls in 2009, allowing it to operate seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.
The only restrictions are that the club must be at least 500 feet away from churches, schools and public parks and 250 feet away from homes.
Club owners say the location -- the former site of a furniture warehouse -- was specifically chosen because it complies with those zoning rules.
This is not the first time the Cavalry Chapel has taken on an adult business.
In the early 1990s, members preached and prayed outside a former porn theater, called the PussyCat Theater, in downtown Torrance.