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Committee votes 5-1 to recommend against allowing the strip club move. Armstrong opposed, all others in favour of rejecting that proposal.#LdnOnt — Megan Stacey (@MeganatLFPress) May 1, 2018

Christos Vitsentzatos, a lawyer representing the strip club owner, said rejecting the move would send the message that politicians don’t care about residents in east London, valuing “profits over people.”

But the committee voted 5-1 against the relocation, citing concerns about children and families at nearby hotels, tarnishing the city’s image in a key gateway for visitors, and the potential for human trafficking along the hotel-heavy corridor. City council is expected to make a final decision next week.

Coun. Harold Usher spoke out against the move, saying he lives closest to the Exeter Road site of “anyone in this room” and heard many concerns from residents in his nearby ward. A body rub parlour has been licensed at 802 Exeter Rd. since 1999.

Usher and Coun. Jared Zaifman, whose ward includes the Exeter Road site, worried about the image of a strip club for visitors coming off Highway 401. Zaifman pointed to the thousands expected to flock to London for the 2019 Juno Awards.

“Most of the people who come into London – whether for business or for visits or for sports – that’s where they have to come. They stay in those hotels and they bring their kids,” Usher said.

Nearby hotel owners were panicked about the impact for guests that stay in their hotels.

But several politicians asked their colleagues to leave the “moral” judgements about adult entertainment facilities out of the discussion.

Coun. Jesse Helmer chastised the committee for using language that degrades people who work in adult businesses, and pointed out that those workers weren’t consulted about a potential move.

He said he based his decision partially on practical considerations for employees.

“What is it like for somebody to get there and go to work? Both these locations are not great,” Helmer said.

London licenses strip clubs and a number of body rub parlours in the city, but only at specific locations.

To move an adult business, the owners must apply to “delete” the current licence and reactivate it at another site. Golddiggers can come back to politicians with another potential site, if the 802 Exeter Rd. proposal is officially rejected by city council next week.