Anyone who wants to expand into the business of adult entertainment is bound to bounce against a few walls in the process.
Such was the case for operators of popular gentleman's club "The Furnace."
And as the new owners of the old "Derby Junction" night club are learning, no matter where your club is located, there will be people ready to speak out against it.
Robert Etheridge says the clubs location on Derby Way off I-459 will hurt development in the area. "Whose going to buy any of these commercial lots if they got a strip club next to them? The City of Birmingham will be losing revenue because nobody's going to buy these lots tp put businesses on."
Dozens of similar opinions were voiced during Wednesday's public safety committee meeting. But club attorney Donald Blankenship argued that by law the owners request is legal.
"The spacing requirements were put in place to keep division two dance places away from churches, schools, parks and the like, and that's exactly what it does. we meet all requirements of the zoning ordinance."
Blankenship's argument for "Sinsation Palace" may actually have merit.
CBS 42 measured and found the closest house is .02 miles away, and out of view of the club thanks to a hill and a tree line.
The closest church is three-quarters of a mile away and it's on the other side of I-459.
And even though there is no school in site, that matters little to the people like Ron Griggs who drive by the club everyday.
"I don't particularly support it personally, but that not something I can regulate, that's why we have elected officials."
The Birmingham City Council will vote on the issue on Tuesday.
