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SAN DIEGO — The Rock Church will soon hold religious services at the East County Performing Arts Center, but not everyone in the community is on board.

The ECPAC has been vacant for four years. City leaders said the deal is worth $1 million a year in rent and is the best chance to cash in and keep the center open.

Ray Lutz was joined by a dozen protestors Thursday as he dropped off a formal complaint to the City of El Cajon expressing the group’s opposition to the Rock Church’s expansion. The group says the city’s own list of possible uses for the center precludes turning it into a church.

“What the city is proposing to do is against the law,” Lutz said. “‘The city warrants that the use of ECPAC shall be for civic, educational, cultural and recreational purposes.’ Now it didn’t list religious purposes in there.”

The Rock Church released a statement saying “The City of El Cajon assured us that this agreement is perfectly legal, and we at the Rock Church are excited for this new opportunity to serve the people of East County.”

The religious services would start in early 2015 after the city completes about $1 million in renovations to the center.

Lutz said that if the city doesn’t respond to the group’s complaint, he will take it to court.