SEATTLE — There’s rarely an argument against adding housing in Seattle, but a proposal before the Seattle City Council right now is being opposed by a large union.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Workers Union Local 19, along with other local maritime groups, say this new idea of adding 1,000 units of housing to an industrial area will erode the local maritime economy.

“It’s a bad idea. There’s no reason to take away or jeopardize these family wage jobs and to replace them with temporary housing that is not necessary for the city right now,” Herald Uglas, former president of Local 19 told KOMO News.

The union also said they are concerned about the health and safety of people moving into that industrial area.

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“I am very sympathetic to those concerns. I really am. If I believed that this would negatively impact port operations, I would not be doing this,” Sara Nelson, Seattle City Council president, told KOMO News.

Nelson said the environmental impact statement found no adverse impact on port operations. But Uglas said there would be impacts just blocks away from the port, where the housing would be built, likely along Occidental Avenue.

“This is a heavy industrial area, and we’re not just isolated to the dock because the trucks need to get I-90, but they also need to get to fuel. They need to be weighed. They need to get to the warehouses. There’s a lot of traffic down there. It’s kind of like dying by 1000 cuts cause you just slowly shrink that footprint and it makes it harder and harder,” Uglas said.

The area does include more than just industry. There are retail stores, tasting rooms, and restaurants. Ryan Lengle, owner of Slicebox Pizza, told KOMO News he’s in favor of the housing proposal.

“As a small business, more people would be appreciated,” he said. Right now, locals can only grab a slice or a whole pie from Slicebox Pizza during the day because, at night, he said his customers are home from work, and safety is a serious issue.

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“There are people out back in their RVs and mobile homes and walk by, and they’re a string of wire and doing stuff and chop-chop, chop-shopping bikes and things, and you don’t even know what’s going on people coming in and out of the mobile living situation,” Lengle said.

Nelson also listed safety among her three reasons for supporting this proposal, which also includes economic development and adding a house.

“More activation of this area is key to making it safer for everyone,” Nelson said.

“I think a new neighborhood will have a better opportunity for a positive outcome. I think it would be positive because one, we’re increasing population, and two, it’s such an area here that’s underdeveloped, and it’s like a shadow over this area,” Lengle said.

Lengle said more people, with more eyes on the ground would help increase safety. Half of the housing in this proposal would go to people earning less than King County’s median income. And could also make Occidental a pedestrian-only zone filled with businesses.

“And think about how fun it is to walk along that area with those really neat stores and shops and retail spaces,” Nelson said.

The proposal is scheduled for a public hearing on Feb. 24.