Since his election in November, and more so after he was himself the subject of code enforcement violations, Palm Coast City Council member Victor Barbosa had taken to Facebook to publicize properties he considered to be in violation of city codes. Using his phone, he’d take video of a given property, comment about what he saw, post the video and pictures to his Facebook account, and let the address be disclosed.
“This is disgusting. I can’t believe that this is happening here in Palm Coast,” he said of one property in March as he walked around it. “Wow. I don’t know. So, the people that always put on Facebook that a working vehicle is, how do they say it, that a working vehicle is an eyesore, I think this is an eyesore. I think living next to this, this is a eyesore. Look at that. I’ll be writing a letter to the city manager about this. Hopefully we’ll be getting this taken care of.”
Barbosa earlier this year had been summoned to a code enforcement hearing over his own truck’s commercial signs violating city code, which bans the display of commercial signage on vehicles when vehicles are parked in residential driveways, unless the vehicle is on a service call. (The city is asking residents whether the ban should stay in place.) Barbosa resolved the issue before it got to the code board, but then stepped up his own vigilantism around town, firing off emails and texts to the city manager about what he considered to be problem addresses.
One of those was in Seminole Woods. The alleged issue in question was not visible from the street, other than the garage, but was behind fencing. It nevertheless drew Barbosa’s public rebukes on Facebook, along with photographs of the property that Barbosa posted, and later, in a comment from a reader, the disclosure of the address.
The homeowner, a Desert Storm veteran who served five years and has lived in Flagler County since 1991, was not pleased. He let council members, including Barbosa and City Manager Matt Morton, know it in a three-page, typed and single-spaced letter. “While I agree my backyard and garage need to be cleaned and I am working on it, I do not believe his approach was professional, ethical and productive,” the homeowner, who’s lived at that location since 2012, wrote. He’d had a code enforcement issue in 2019, when the city acted on a complaint about appliances in the driveway.
“Mr. Barbosa approached the subject in a manner that is disrespectful to me as a citizen, a taxpayer, and a small business owner,” the homeowner, who’s owned an appliance-repair business for over a decade. “He chose to immediately accelerate the issue by posting pictures of my privately enclosed locked fenced backyard and my garage without any warning or written notice or calling.” Barbosa had posted an aerial, Google picture of the property that included a pin disclosing the name of the man’s business, a veiled attempt at hurting the business even though Barbosa often–on Facebook–describes himself as an advocate of small businesses, and as an owner of one himself. The homeowner noted that the Google picture of the backyard “proves you can not see it from the street or neighboring homes or else he would have posted a picture from the street view instead.”
The homeowner continued, “His tactic is abusive, conniving, and hypocritical. He resorted to publicly shaming and embarrassing a tax paying citizen. His intentions are fueled by anger about his own personal issues, as evidenced in his posted video and comments on Facebook. Mr. Barbosa should practice integrity by admitting his own mistakes instead of shifting blame to others.”
Contacted by text about the issue, Barbosa declined to comment and did not answer questions seriously. “Thank you for talking about me its free publicity,” he wrote. He has apparently taken down the offending video and pictures of that and other properties he’d targeted.
He also seems to have changed tactic, perhaps in an attempt to whitewash previous vigilantism. In April he took pictures and video of an F-Section property he said belonged to two elderly people who “really need help” cleaning up their property. “I don’t want to put the address up. They need help. And I was so happy that they said yes, we need help,” Barbosa told his camera. He went on to speak about drumming up a group of volunteers to clean up the property, calling it “Flagler County Helping hands or something like that.”
On April 17, four days after the Seminole Woods property owner had sent his letter castigating the councilman, Barbosa showed up at the F Section property, cited the address and talked about trimming the bushes, fixing a tire, power-washing the driveway and getting pizza for his volunteers, if not for the homeowners. He said he wanted to “donate these people some food, I’m not sure that they’re eating right.”
It was never clear why Barbosa had decided to knock on the door at that particular property but shame the Seminole Woods property owner instead. There, the property owner said, Barbosa chose to be “publicly misinforming citizens” by making assumptions about the man’s garage. Barbosa applied that tactic in a different video, still displayed on his Facebook account as of May 12, from a different property, where Barbosa makes baseless assumptions about the homeowners making repairs without securing permits.
In a text on Wednesday, Barbosa wrote of the property owner who wrote the letter: “Ask [him] if he needs me to go help him clean up with my volunteers.” Asked if Barbosa had himself made the offer or if he’d responded to him at all, Barbosa replied: “You don’t answer my questions and im suposed to answer yours lol.” (He had asked how much money was generated by articles about him, among other unrelated questions.)
In early April at a council meeting, Barbosa, making baseless claims of “corruption,” had called for the firing of the city manager, saying the manager had put Barbosa’s name on the code enforcement complaints he’d been sending in about others, though he was not hiding the extent to which he was shaming others on Facebook with his recurring videos. Nor was he preventing others from echoing the slanders.
Barbosa allowed insults of the Seminole Woods property owner to populate his Facebook posting. “On his Facebook page, citizens have argued against each other, have used vulgar language in their comments that Mr. Barbosa hasn’t removed (from the date of this letter), and they have assumed the most untrue conclusions of me,” the property owner wrote. “I am disheartened to have such a negative experience first hand from a City official that I’ve never met in my life. it is clear by his actions that Mr. Barbosa has a strong will against the City and is taking down citizens in the process, displaying his lack of self-control.” The homeowner noted that Barbosa’s behavior was in violation of the city’s own code of conduct, though in fact the code does not apply to elected officials, only to employees of the city.
The homeowner spoke of his family’s deep roots in the community since 1991 and his own contributions in time and appliances to those in need. But because of Barbosa’s post on Facebook, the man said he’d had to install surveillance cameras for his and his family’s safety. He asked for the post to be removed and for an apology from Barbosa.
“From his Facebook post, his interactions with citizens is nothing short of rudeness, egotistical, elementary offensive, antagonistic and insensitive,” the homeowner wrote. “Code enforcement themselves do not post pictures or videos of violations on Facebook or on the City’s Facebook page or harass, embarrass, or persecute the citizen in such a manner that Mr. Barbosa has proudly and easily accomplished.”
Barbosa was elected last November in a four-way special election to fill the seat vacated by Jack Howell, who’d resigned for health reasons. Barbosa has self-limited his tenure on the council, having announced a run for the County Commission, where he would be challenging incumbent Greg Hansen. Hansen has not yet announced a run for re-election. Council members have rebuked Barbosa for his behavior on the council. The city clerk said there were no responses to the letter from anyone, Barbosa included, nor has there been any code enforcement activity in response to Barbosa’s vigilantism.
The homeowner’s letter appears below in full, minus his name and his specific address.
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Jimbo99 says
Sounds like a lot of people around Palm Coast/Flagler county are habitual code enforcement violators. I don’t care about anyone’s service record, small business, or whatever else is empowered as an excuse to let violations slide. They seem to constantly abuse the system at every claim of being a victim, playing the pity card as a misfortunate, taxpaying citizen. And that goes for Barbosa as well. Write them their warning citations, fine them if they don’t get anything done to resolve it. I’ll be the first to offer the handicapped a hand, but these folks seem to be able bodied opportunists. The rest of us live by the ordinances & codes, that should be their first considerations for the neighbors. But it isn’t. Makes you wonder if they were the toilet paper hoarders or the one’s with panic fueling purchases in recent day(s) as a panic anxiety response to the pipeline crisis that doesn’t affect FL. Maybe it gets better here, then again a realist, I don’t hold my breath that these folks become better human beings/neighbors. I have my share of them on my street, just before Easter one of them wiped out my mailbox and didn’t square up on that accountability & responsibility to pay for damages. I’ve got others that do burn outs in the street, the tire tracks are often directly in front of the place they are renting. One neighbor has already put out a sign that addresses wreckless/careless driving specifically. Seems they’re fed up with what’s going on in front of their home too. None of us are perfect, that said, the imperfections shouldn’t always be the empowering excuse to always be the scofflaw of ordinance(s) and code(s) violations. For the violator, they need to ask themselves why they’re always in the position of being the one that imposes on others. One of my bigger gripes, the basketball goals that line the streets, especially where street lights don’t exist. Pitch dark & someone is going to hit one of those, then again, someone is driving too fast for visibility.
Duncan says
I think you are missing the point. Although your points are well taken, this is not about code enforcement or yard maintenance, Barbosa does not work for city code enforcement; that position is filled. It’s about a council member that should have enough common sense to realize when he is abusing his position as an elected official and should know when he is out of line. His behavior is pure harassment and that is unacceptable by someone that holds a city office, elected or appointed.
An elected official’s behavior matters – much more than a regular tax paying citizen. There’s not a shred of difference between the overall behavior of Barbosa and Mullins. They are both over-reaching, power-hungry, imbeciles that are unfit for office. They are embarrassments to PC and FC and all of us that behave as good citizens should do what needs to be done and vote them out of office.
Jimbo99 says
I got that out of the article too, but somehow, Barbosa was the only villain in the article, yet others were painted as victims for doing similar. The trash pick up takes care of non-functional appliances, call them & schedule those pickups, don’t clutter & leave them in the front, side & back yard or driveway. what someone does behind a closed garage door is another thing, unless they have a shared wall of a duplex, if that becomes a haven for rodents and other unhealthy insects/pests. Nobody lives in a vacuum, that affects others lives. If an in-home based appliance repair business out grows the garage, well it’s time to get a storage unit or even store front to operate out of.
And while I do agree that it’s a fine line to be the council-person that makes the complaint, to a certain extent they’re just alienating a few votes here & there of code violators. They are also doing the same policy & procedure that anyone can & should be able to report potential violations. That should be the extent of it though, let code enforcement handle that. In that system they’ve done their role as community watch dog. And to selectively seek relaxations to outright code elimination to benefit their particular infractions, I agree is an abuse of power on the surface. There are many small business owners that are for having codes/ordinances eliminated for commercial vehicles & residential. Should Barbosa be their advocate when he’s a habitual infraction violator. Instead Barbosa has a volunteer group for other infractions like the clutter removal. That’s a pro-active & positive approach from Barbosa. So he’s not the total villain the article paints him as in that regard. Sometimes change is too slow, he’s facilitating a more expeditious solution for anything, whether one is for or against each measure is any individual’s preferences.
And naturally, others will fight some of those solutions. If Holland, Branquinho, Klufas, Danko, Morton or any of the more established politicians & higher ranking employees of the rammed this thru with a 3-2 vote as some type of unspoken collusion of Democracy, is that any better as spun as community progress ? All one needs to compare is the current Congress that has the votes to ram the agenda thru. That’s not Democracy, it’s forced upon the 49-50 percent that needed Kamala Harris to break a tie. We all know that a tiebreaker changes what everyone has to live by. That happened with Mullins for censure. That somehow Mullins own vote turned out to be the tiebreaker. All this somehow ties back to past issues, things like a splash pad in a park or the pickle ball courts. When I read the words of all involved, watch it on YouTube even, there is a retaliatory vindictive aspect of it that seeks to cancel culture. That’s the one thing about this world, some get away with their brand of it, others don’t & are called out, villainized & even, cancelled for it. That resembles a nasty division in a HOA on a smaller scale. Congress is a Federal HOA at this point, and Flagler County/Palm Coast is no different.
Ken says
Palm coast ordinances are ridiculous….this is not Beverly hills
Dennis says
The great American way, selective prosecution. What good for one is not good for smother. Sad.
Steve says
No Barbosa you are digusting and cant believe you are happening in PC. Rude, abusive, conniving, hypocrital all the while publicly shaming and embarrassing a taxpaying Citizen. Publicly misinforming the people of FPC. Using Vulgar language via a Social media platform while representing the City , unethical, professional, unproductive. Need any other information not to Vote for him at any position come Election time????
Ken says
Who died and left Barbosa in charge??? I’ll find something wrong at his house!!!!
Dennis C Rathsam says
OH OH!!!!! THE MAN WHO WANTS TO BE KING!
Lisa Freelove says
One of the homes Mr. Barbosa cited was that of my adult son who, while able to live on his own with minimal assistance, is developmentally disabled. Mr. Barbosa cited my son for having his recycle container in public view and his lawn needing trimmed. My son, his grandmother, myself, and the company we’ve hired to mow his lawn keep his home looking beautiful and is one of the best kept in his neighborhood. Mr. Barbosa’s selfish and self-serving actions sent my disabled son into a tailspin filled with panic, fear of losing his home, and confusion over what he’d done wrong. It took his grandmother and I hours to reassure him that all was okay….and broke our hearts to see him so distraught. Mr. Barbosa…you owe my son an apology.
Jimbo99 says
That’s a little overly dramatic ? Perhaps a fear that a fine would end up costing more than taking care of the problems ? Take care of the problems proactively and Ordinance Enforcement doesn’t deliver the warning or citation. If one can understand the concept of yard maintenance, the rest of the upkeep is part of home ownership in Palm Coast. But this is a yard trim, that’s on your lawn service ? Is it really bush trimming that isn’t included ? Any lawn service I’ve observed is a once a week complete manicure in season. Dormant growth, that needs to be handled less frequently, yet still done for bushes around the house. I do it, it’s maybe an hour or two on a Sunday afternoon in cooler weather, bag it and have it removed by trash pickup. Tree limbs and overgrowth near house roofing & power lines ? If fear of storm damage from that doesn’t throw anyone into a tailspin, why would a warning from Code enforcement ? As for the garbage can(s) & recycle bin(s), put it in the garage already. Problems solved, you’ll never hear from Ordinance Enforcement again. These are the games in life we all deal with, some mandatory, other elective maintenance. I understand & have the empathy over the anxiety of the handicapped, so that was unfortunate. But this is a matter of addressing the issues. These weren’t as big a deal that a few minutes of compliance doesn’t cure.
Been There says
A little overdramatic?! Did you not read that the son is DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED? That means his emotional and mental development is not on par with (I want to to say, “the rest of us” but clearly Jimbo99 is a little emotionally stunted himself) what would be behaviorally the “norm”.
When you are at a point in your life when you can’t 100% take care of yourself and your property because you are old, broken, injured or (oh) DISABLED in any way, I hope that someone extends some kindness your way instead of being an insensitive lint licker like you. Actually, I’m lying. I hope karma pukes all over you.
Land of no turn signals says says
Not a big fan of Barbosa but if your a slob and your property is in disarray shut him up by cleaning if up.
BillyBatts says
Clean your yards up! Palm Coast is way too lax about this. Follow the rules. You agreed to live here and abide by the rules. It’s pretty ridiculous what code enforcement allows to go on, for such a long time. You don’t want people disrespecting you? Great! We don’t want you disrespecting us with your trashy yards. Grow up, and clean up. If you need help, hire it. Barbosa may be brash, but he isn’t wrong.
Mary Fusco says
Bill Batts, I agree anyone that owns a home should keep it up to the best of their ability. Some are more able than others to hire people to do their work. Mr. Barbosa does not work for Code Enforcement. His job as a Councilman is to pass the information on to them to take action. Taking unauthorized video of a person’s residence, along with the address and blasting it on social media is wrong and shows a teenage mentality.
A Good Neighbor says
I keep my yard , both front and back, nicely trimmed. And bushes and hedges trimmed. I’m old now and can barely push that mower anymore. I could go on about my medical problems but why bother. ……… I don’t ask anyone for help, and I damn well will not pay for someone to cut my lawn because they do terrible work and I don’t have much money to live on. My point is, I probably don’t have much more time left of this life but I still take care of my own property. May not have much to eat, or cloths to wear, but I get enough money to pay my Bills and keep gas in the lawnmower and weedeater….. I have RICH neighbors who have 4 cars and boats but their lawn looks like SH*T because they will not get their lazy asses out there on the weekends to clean it up. I spend a lot of time on Mondays picking up their TRASH that blows ALL over the street and yards because they can’t put it in trash bags…….
To bad we can’t elect our neighbors like we elect our city leaders !!!
Tyce Mikon says
America went into the toilet when it became illegal to smack these gutless deplorable blowhards right in the mouth. When words aren’t getting through, perhaps some strategically placed knuckles would suffice.
Big Mama says
Palm Coast is not a
gated community. We do not pay HOA fees. Some us cannot afford lawn maintenance. We get it done the best we can. Give us a break and get rid of these stupid rules. If you are afraid your neighborhood will go down hill, move to a gated one!
Irwin M. Fletcher says
Palm Coast like many other municipalities has restrictions and the majority of us moved here because we sought to live in a well kept community. The rules are not stupid, they are relevant to the expectations of most residents. These rules are in place to keep the neighborhoods looking nice. If you cannot afford to maintain your property or choose not to, maybe you would better suited living on the fringes of our community that are far less regulated. If anything, the rules in the city are not well enforced and should have some teeth. The lack of enforcement is allowing our community to go down hill.
flatsflyer says
One major difference is that Balbosa is clearing using his truck for advertising purposes. He is not going to any residences to perform any type of service. This fool is doing nothing except running around town with his mobile bulletin board. From the picture appearing in the article it appears that the soffit of his home could use a little attention. Be careful when you vote, this is a great example of what you can end up with! Mullins, DeSantis, Mitch, Kevin, Taylor Green, Gatez and Trump, not a single one is worth a shit, they aren’t even decent human beings.
John Stove says
Free Publicity? That is what he is happy about?
Here is some free publicity…..Barbosa you are a tool. Who drives around with a truck with their last name on the hood? Obviously someone who needs the attention badly…”hey, look…its me”!!!!
Yes, every neighborhood in the world has some neighbor who should take better care of their yard or something else on their property but the way to handle it is by maybe going thru the process established by the governing municipality (Code Enforcement) and not by shaming them on social media.
You wanna be a code enforcement officer then apply for a vacancy…..but you wont make it past the interview when they tell you that “no….you cant have your name painted on your truck and no….you cant have your name on the back of your shirt like a football jersey”.
MikeM says
If your yard is an eyesore clean it up .
Nobody wants to live next to an appliance junk yard. Veteran or not, you wouldn’t get away with that in the military. Stop using your veteran status to get out of being a slob. This is one of the few times I agree with Barbosa.
MRC says
Regardless if a person has a messy yard or not, the problem is the TACTICS that Barbosa displayed by maligning a person on Facebook, taking illegal actions (probably using a drone to do aerial photos of the person’s backyard), and abusing his position to bully others. Wow! If I was that property owner, I would immediately hire a lawyer and sue the crap out of Barbosa. What is wrong with people in this town? They could care less about their neighbors and their situations. I grew up in the Midwest and if we saw a situation where a neighbor appeared to be having difficulty maintaining things, we would jump in, no questions asked, mow their yards, pull weeds, shovel their snow, rebuild a barn or house after a storm, etc., etc. I recently noticed that my neighbor had seriously neglected their yard and instead of reporting them to code enforcement, I talked to my neighbor and simply asked them how they were doing. I found out that she had been in the hospital for a long period of time, lost her job because of it, and was not physically able to do simple maintenance. Even though I am in a wheelchair myself, a friend and I went out and did some cleanup along the fence line, repaired her vacuum cleaner, power washed her driveway, and plan to water brown areas on our property line. Just some simple neighborly things to do. You do not know a person’s situation until you get to know them in a kind, caring, manner. Grant it, there are nasty people out there who do not want us poking their noses in their business. But I can assure you, 99% of our neighbors want a good neighbor that they know they can count on when the going gets tough. People like Barbosa and Mullins are NOT working in the best interest of our community. They are haters and destroyers, along with their cohorts. Lets put them in their place and remove their toxic vitriol from our community.
Whathehck? says
Gee! This is the new trend, accuse someone else of doing what you did. So the parasite used Google maps to see what is going on in people’s fenced yard. What’s next he will be flying a drone to see if the inside of your house is messy? Watch out Palm Coast the gestapo is watching you.
Tim says
Glad I don’t live in Palm Coast. Not sure why anyone would. Neighborhoods with no sidewalks. Power poles with electric going to houses above ground. Toll to go across the bridge. Poorly designed roadways. Palm Coast has nothing to offer that you can’t get in any other Florida city.
Just Wondering says
Is Seminole Woods part of his District? Or is he just out cruising?
Kat says
I know this is not really germane to the original post but there was something disturbing on this thread. So Barbosa is going to run against Hansen. I can’t think of two worse choices, please Lord let somebody else run for this seat.
Skibum says
How did this disgusting man get elected to anything? After finding out what he is all about, I have, and will continue to never enter the barbershop or the restaurant he is affiliated with just off of Old Kings Rd. adjacent to our Island Walk shopping center. I encourage others to learn more about his very questionable conduct since he has been on the city council. We don’t need such a vile, negative and unethical person making decisions for the city’s future.
carol says
Get rid of that buffoon member!!!