Arizona- Scottsdale police are investigating the city’s two topless bars for possible violations of an ordinance banning lap dances and restricting where strippers can perform, police expense reports show.

The investigation is taking place as city leaders explore ways to close down the strip clubs.

Undercover officers have visited the clubs multiple times during the past three weeks, more than at any other time during the past seven years, the reports show. Police did not submit any expense reports in 2004 for undercover work at Babe’s Cabaret, 2011 N. Scottsdale Road, and Skin Cabaret, 1137 N. Scottsdale Road.

It is unclear exactly how many times officers have gone to the clubs, as the city blacked out the dates of when expenses were turned in to protect information about the police department’s investigative methods.

In all, undercover officers spent nearly $350 at the clubs this year, the reports show. Pat Dodds, a Scottsdale spokesman, said all the expenses were incurred after Aug. 19.

“The police department is proceeding with an investigation of the sexually oriented businesses in Scottsdale,” Dodds said. “And they are proceeding in concert with the city attorney’s office and making a determination whether to take any additional action.”

Police Chief Alan Rodbell and interim City Attorney Deborah Robberson did not return calls for comment.

The bars have come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks following news reports that porn star Jenna Jameson, a Paradise Valley resident, purchased a share of Babe’s.

Both Skin and Babe’s are located in south Scottsdale, an area the city has committed to revitalizing as its neighborhoods age. Jameson’s purchase has reminded neighborhood activists that check-cashing stores and strip clubs, which they deem undesirable, have chosen their side of the city.

Mayor Mary Manross and several City Council members pledged to block Babe’s from continuing to operate.

However, the Tribune found that police and prosecutors had ignored violations of the city’s Sexually Oriented Business Ordinance – which bans lap dances – for more than two years. Former City Attorney David Pennartz, fearing the ordinance might not be upheld in federal court, instructed Scottsdale’s police and prosecutors to stop enforcing the regulations in August 2003.

Following Tribune inquiries about the enforcement lapse, police again began monitoring the clubs, Dodds said. It is unclear whether officers have cited the clubs for violations.

The Tribune found that performers at both bars offer lap dances and violate several other sections of the city ordinance.

Babe’s manager Rigoberto Durazo said he is not aware of any citations, or of his bar breaking any rules. “If (the police are) doing something, they’re not telling me or they’re not notifying us that we are doing something wrong,” he said.

A U.S. Court of Appeals ruling late last year might force Scottsdale to alter its ordinance. While the city attorney’s office has argued most of the regulations will remain intact, it has refused to disclose which are being enforced.

The council is slated to discuss the ordinance in a closed-door meeting Tuesday.