Seattle- Seattle voters may get the final say on whether to overturn the city’s tough new restrictions on nude dancing.

Calling itself the “Coalition Against Censorship,” a group of strip-club owners and supporters yesterday announced a referendum campaign to try to overturn the rules. The group hopes to gather nearly 14,000 signatures on petitions to put the question before voters next year.

The rules, approved by the City Council on a 5-4 vote, include a ban on lap dances and are regarded by strippers and club owners as an attempt to drive them out of business.

Under the city charter, ordinances passed by the council and mayor can be placed before voters if opponents gather enough signatures within 30 days. Nickels signed the strip-club ordinance Monday, so the petitions would have to be filed by Nov. 8, said Gil Levy, attorney for Rick’s strip club in the Lake City neighborhood.

“I don’t think the ordinance that just got passed by the council is popular with the citizens of Seattle, and I think they should be given a chance to decide for themselves whether they want it or not,” Levy said. He said the clubs would employ paid signature gatherers.

If the petition drive is successful, it is not clear when a vote would occur. The charter says the council may choose to hold a special election, which could be as early as February, or wait for the next regular election.

Seattle’s new ordinance imposes some of the strictest adult-entertainment rules among the country’s large cities and attracted international news coverage. It requires dancers to stay 4 feet from patrons and forces clubs to install bright lighting and waist-high railings in front of their stages.

Dancers, who make all their money from customers’ tips, say the ban on more-intimate lap dances will reduce their income.

Because of amendments approved by the council, it will be several months before much of the law takes effect.

Supporters said the rules would be easier to enforce than the old restrictions, which prohibited sexual touching, but had no requirement that strippers and patrons stay a certain distance apart.

But opponents said the rules exhibited a prudish streak in a city otherwise known for liberal political views.

“I have been dancing since 1996 without incident or problems,” said Jennifer Haggerty, a dancer at Rick’s, in a statement issued by Levy yesterday. “These new rules are a thinly disguised attempt to put our club out of business and me out of a job.”

There are four licensed strip clubs operating in Seattle. For 17 years, a city moratorium prevented new ones from opening. That ban was struck down by a judge last month, and the city quickly moved to enact the new rules to discourage new clubs from opening.

Marty McOmber, a spokesman for Nickels, said the Mayor’s Office had not seen the proposal and had little comment.

“It’s democracy; it’s allowed under the city charter. We haven’t seen any of the details,” he said.