SNOHOMISH — State Rep. Hans Dunshee says he’s ready to build a one-story house on a vacant lot overlooking Blackmans Lake.

But neighbors who worry that the house will block their view of the lake and lower their property value are making an attempt at trying to stop the house from being built.

“We don’t want a house there,” said Jodi Costello, who lives directly across from the Lake Avenue property with her fiance, Josh Childs.

They say that Dunshee doesn’t have enough land to build the home.

In order to build the home, Dunshee must have 7,200 square feet, which is the minimum legal size for development under city guidelines.

The size of the lot became an issue earlier when Dunshee asked the city to declare a small portion of Hill Park surplus and he purchased the property from the city.

Now, the couple say that Dunshee’s lot might still not be big enough to build a house. The fence between Dunshee’s lot and an adjacent property, owned by Andy Suzuki, is off the real property line and is actually several feet onto Dunshee’s property. The fence also extends beyond Suzuki’s property into the park.

Costello and Childs want the fence, which was built decades ago, to be considered the actual property line. That would make Dunshee’s lot smaller than the required 7,200 square feet.

Dunshee, a Democrat and Snohomish resident, disagrees. The original property line should stand despite the fence’s location, he said. The city issued him a building permit on July 20.

“The issue is done,” Dunshee said. “The house is under way.”

Suzuki, 71, who is retired and splits his time between Costa Rica, Japan and Snohomish, said he has yet to decide what to do with the fence dispute.

The city will not be involved in the fence issue between Suzuki and Dunshee, city manager Larry Bauman said.

Meanwhile, city officials are set to meet with Suzuki on Friday to discuss part of the fence between his property and Hill Park, Bauman said.

The genesis of the neighborhood dispute began earlier this year.

Dunshee set his eye on the Lake View Avenue parcel to build a house.

But the parcel was 360 square feet too small for the legal size for development. Dunshee unsuccessfully tried to obtain a variance from the city and to buy a small chunk of Suzuki’s property.

Then Dunshee proposed to the city that it declare a piece of Hill Park to be surplus property. The city did so and put it out to bid with strict restrictions preserving its permanent use as park land.

Dunshee bought the 3-foot-by-120-foot strip for $9,434 on Jan. 16. Then he purchased the Lake View Avenue parcel.

The deal didn’t violate any city ordinances.

Following the city’s action, neighbors expressed their anger saying that they didn’t know about the sale of the surplus property. That led the city to change some of its rules to better inform the public of the sale of a surplus property.

Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.