This will be third time the heritage committee has attempted to limit change to this private residence.
“We feel like we’re being punished,” Jane Barnett told city council in September. For the third time in 40 years she’s fighting a heritage designation on her property – 1084 Feeley Court.
The old house, which dates to the 19th century and was built by Mississauga pioneering resident Warren Clarkson, sits on an acre of land in the area of Clarkson Rd and Lakeshore Rd West. The decision to push for the designation on the property is coming from the City’s heritage committee.
When Barnett’s grandparents first bought the house in 1936 it was surrounded by farmland. Today, it sits within a modern subdivision, steps away from a grocery store, Dollarama and McDonalds.
“Time goes by; things just don’t stay the same,” Barnett said to council many times. The house her grandparents bought has been updated and changed over the years and the surrounding neighbourhood has also changed.
A heritage designation would prevent the family from making changes in the future, such as demolishing the house, severing the lot or building something new.
Barnett said that she recently turned 80 years old and realizes that her time in the house is limited. She’s fighting the heritage designation not for herself, but on behalf of her daughter Jillian Barnett. She said she wants to leave her daughter with “an asset she can use rather than a property encumbered by restrictions.”
There are currently over 300 properties on the heritage designation list in Mississauga today. They are governed according to the provincial Heritage Act. There are also three heritage conservation districts in the city: Meadowvale Village, Old Port Credit Village and Streetsville.
A heritage designation requires owners to obtain approval from the city before altering any designated heritage features. Typically owners of heritage properties can do whatever interior renovations or maintenance they want, but changes to exterior facades or specific architectural attributes would have to be approved.
The City of Mississauga has a program to give grant money to help cover the cost of repair or restoration of these heritage assets.
Instead of making a decision about whether or not to proceed with the heritage designation process at 1084 Feeley Court, city council decided in September to defer the matter another month. According to the Heritage Act, the city has until the end of 2026 to decide whether or not to move forward with the designation.
As council did not sit in October, it should be on the agenda again in November or December. Then Mayor Carolyn Parrish said she hoped further discussion could help find a solution that would satisfy both the homeowner and the city’s heritage department.
“I’m not arguing against history,” Barnett told the committee. She said she would be open to moving the house elsewhere as “It’s the property that is valuable.”
Moving heritage properties is something the city has done in the past. Well known examples include the Bradley House and the Leslie Log House.
In 1988 the Barnett family donated the old barn that was on their property to the city of Mississauga. It was moved to Erindale Park, however, the move compromised the barn’s structural integrity and it had to be demolished.
