Heritage Barrie Committee
Heritage Barrie is an advisory committee appointed by Council. The committee works with the community to build awareness of local heritage matters, provide heritage information, and encourage preservation of heritage buildings and landscapes.
Barrie’s historic neighbourhoods are unique and reflect Barrie’s natural and cultural heritage. These neighbourhoods each have their own distinctive sense of place, rich history and defining attributes and characteristics. Aspects of each neighbourhood’s location, geography, amenities and housing types and tenure contribute to the overall story of Barrie’s past.
Heritage Barrie encourages citizens and visitors to explore the history of Barrie, and discover more about the places and people who helped to shape the city.
Meeting Schedule
Heritage Barrie Committee has gone virtual! Due to the COVID pandemic and restriction on non-essential gatherings, all Committee meetings are being held virtually via Zoom. The committee meets every second Wednesday of each month. Please visit
barrie.legistar.com for meeting agendas and information.
Scheduled meetings are being livestreamed on the
City's YouTube channel. The meetings are open and members of the public are welcome to join the meeting via Zoom; please contact Tomasz Wierzba at
tomasz.wierzba@barrie.ca or 705-739-4220 x4403 in advance of a meeting to request attendance.
On March 19, the Province of Ontario passed the Municipal Emergency Act, 2020 to permit virtual participation in council, committee or local board meetings.
Matters of Focus
Heritage Barrie focuses on local heritage matters including:
- Recommending buildings to be listed on the Heritage Register to Council.
- Preparing and maintaining a list of all properties worthy of conservation under the Heritage Act.
- Staying up to date on all heritage conservation legislation and programs including:
- Heritage Act
- Planning Act
- Official Plan’s Cultural Heritage policies
- Local heritage stakeholders initiative
- Recommending programs worthy of consideration to Council.
- Providing information to property owners about the preservation of heritage properties.
- Supplying information about the conservation of such properties.
- Making recommendations on alterations or demolition of designated or listed buildings.
Initiatives
Heritage Barrie works continually on many ongoing initiatives including:
- Keeping Heritage Walking Tours up-to-date
- Inviting, promoting and encouraging property owners to list non-designated properties on the
Heritage Register
- Selecting recipients for annual Heritage Awards from community nominations
- Sponsoring guided walking tours
- Holding an annual Heritage Stakeholders meeting
- Initiating and developing the City’s Heritage Strategy
Events
Open Air Dunlop
Over the course of the summer the Heritage Barrie Committee participated in Open Air Dunlop to promote heritage conservation, educate the public, and promote the Municipal Heritage Register. The Committee also worked with Steve Travers, the City's Official Town Crier, to offer historic walking tours.
