Strip clubs and other adult entertainment establishments will only be allowed in areas zoned for heavy industry in Saskatoon.

Council passed the bylaw on Monday night, but not before hearing from dancers, booking agents, bouncers, and bar owners. Jordy Lauze employs bikini-clad pole dancers twice a week at his club called Rock Bottom, on Broadway Avenue, Saskatoon's popular shopping and entertainment area.

"If we had foreseen this earlier, I don't think we would have invested in Saskatoon and on Broadway," Lauze said after council voted. "There's a lot of red tape and a lot of bylaws here. They can make it very hard on a small business owner like ourselves to turn a profit in what we're doing."

Patrick Burke owns Tiger Lily Cabaret — an agency that books models and dancers.

"The girls look for work elsewhere," Burke said of the impact the bylaw will have. "They're already planning to go to Alberta. Seventy-five per cent of their income has been removed from them effectively because of this change."

No night clubs currently exist in the only areas where adult entertainment venues will now be allowed.

There was some discussion of also allowing them in light industrial areas where some nightclubs currently exist. However, that amendment could not be made in time to pass the bylaw before January 1 — when the change in provincial law allowing stripping in bars takes effect. Council was told if it had no bylaw in place before that date, strip clubs could be allowed across the city.

There were also hints the city could allow strip clubs in light industrial areas in the future. In six months, city staff will look at the bylaw's impact. The city will also consider forming a task force that could include the views of people in the industry.