THE Launceston City Council is investigating complaints into the city's proposed strip club, a council meeting has heard.
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It came as the venue announced it would open on February 13 with an invite-only event.
Yesterday Alderman Danny Gibson said he'd received phone calls about the club and a new explicit sign was causing "distress" to some members of the public.
Erected last week it shows two scantily clad women pole dancing.
"In terms of our ability to censor the naked models currently on the sign, what avenues do we have to pursue removal?" he said.
Council development services director Michael Stretton said the council could regulate the size and shape of signs but not the content.
An almost identical sign caused controversy in Hobart when it was erected on the Men's Gallery strip club in 2009.
In response Hobart aldermen successfully voted to change their planning scheme to ban sexualised images being displayed in public among other provisions to regulate the city's strip clubs.
Mr Stretton said staff were investigating whether a permit should have been sought to erect the sign in the first place.
"Council is currently investigating different complaints about the activities that are going on at the site," Mr Stretton said.
He said it appeared the strip club was able to operate under previous council permits granted to the venue when it was a live music bar the Hub.
Yesterday the Launceston Showgirls Facebook site was offering free tickets to its opening night for the first 250 users who "liked" it.
The club said it reached that number in two hours and claimed the response nearly crashed its computer system.
About a third of those answering the call for freebies were female.
