Katzie Estates owners whose leases are ending have one last bittersweet summer on Pitt Lake

By Karin Mark

It's not unusual to see smoke curling up from the rustic cabins at Katzie Estates. Wood stoves are standard equipment in the 60-acre cabin community at the mouth of Pitt Lake.

But the slight chill in the spring air this morning doesn't warrant the thick grey plumes of smoke billowing from the deck of Donna Nygaard and J. J. Robertson's A-frame.

A group has gathered to burn the cabin down.

Someone is using a shovel to pry the rough wooden shakes from the roof and toss them into a pile for burning. Another person shoves them into an oil drum, where a fire crackles and pops.

"It was just time to start enjoying this place," Nygaard said. "I had just finished cleaning it up."

The smoke creates a grey smudge against the blue sky — a fitting symbol for the mood around Katzie Estates these days. The cabin owners are in de-construction mode, preparing for when their leases with the Katzie First Nation expire Dec. 31.

"When I was here last year we had a little get-together. It was just like a funeral," said Nygaard, of Cloverdale. "You go through all the emotions."

Accessible only by water, Katzie Estates is located on the west shore of Grant Narrows, a three-minute boat ride from the landing in north Pitt Meadows.

The original 25-year leases were the result of a developer's plan in the mid-1970s to create a resort on part of the Katzie band's 540-acre lakeside property. About 60 unserviced lots were created in those early days, about 35 with A-frame cabins. There was even a restaurant.

That deal went sour about a decade later, however, and the Katzie - through the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs - began leasing the sites out individually. Today, about 46 of the sites are leased, six of those to year-round residents.