- The newly approved city of Starbase is apparently looking to ramp up development, telling some residents they “may lose the right to continue” using their property as a result of a proposed zoning ordinance for a mixed-use space, according to a memo published by CNBC. Starbase is home to SpaceX’s Starship launch site, and the majority of its residents are employees of Elon Musk’s company.
Starbase, the fledgling Texas city home to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, appears to be making rapid moves to advance its development.
The city has notified some residents it is considering a new zoning ordinance that may require residents to lose access to their property, according to a city memo published by CNBC.
“The city of Starbase is holding a hearing that will determine whether you may lose the right to continue using your property for its current use, please read this notice carefully,” newly hired city administrator Kent Myers, the memo’s author, said.
Starbase serves as the headquarters of SpaceX and launch site of its Starship program, which has the ultimate goal of transporting passengers on flights to the moon and Mars. Earlier this month, about 200 of the 283 residents in the area eligible to vote—the majority of which were SpaceX employees—approved a proposal to turn the coastal South Texas land into the city of Starbase.
The Cameron County city, once the town of Boca Chica Village, will likely have about 500 residents, more than half of whom will be SpaceX employees. Many others will be family members of the employees. The city’s leadership also has connections with Musk, including Mayor Robert Peden, a 12-year SpaceX veteran.
The city is looking to develop a space that is a “blend of residential, office, retail, and small-scale service uses.” Residents who were sent the memo own property within the proposed zoning map. Starbase is scheduled to convene on June 23 to discuss the zoning ordinance.
“Our goal is to ensure that the zoning plan reflects the City’s vision for balanced growth, protecting critical economic drivers, ensuring public safety, and preserving green spaces,” the memo said.
In the past few years, Musk has transformed some Texas towns by moving company operations to the red state that boasts few regulations and low taxes. Beyond being a hub for SpaceX, the state is also home to a research and development center for Musk’s tunneling venture the Boring Company, and will soon also house the headquarters of his social media platform, X.
SpaceX, the city of Starbase, and Myers did not respond to Fortune’s requests for comment.
Starbase’s bumpy landing
As Starbase grows, so too does SpaceX’s launch plans. Earlier this week, the Federal Aviation Administration approved SpaceX’s request to increase its annual launches from five to 25.
Not all launches have gone smoothly. The company’s mega rocket Starship launches have resulted in a string of explosions, most recently on Tuesday, when a 403-foot rocket spun out of control before crashing into the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX’s launches take place near Boca Chica Beach, to which the Texas Senate recently allowed authorities to close off access during the launches. Republican state Sen. Adam Hinojosa introduced a separate bill that would allow Starbase to close the beach on weekdays, while Cameron County officials would have the authority on beach hours on the weekend.
While many local officials have been supportive of Musk’s expansion to the Lone Star State and hopeful of the economic potential of the investment, not everyone is of the same opinion. The increased launch activity—and rise of ensuing beach closures—has drawn the ire of some locals, who are concerned Starbase’s growing control of the beach makes it less accessible to those who enjoy it, as well as to the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe, to whom the beach holds spiritual significance.
“The entire system is kind of designed to basically give them a de facto private beach,” Rob Nixon, vice chair of the South Texas chapter of environmental nonprofit the Surfrider Foundation, told the Texas Tribune. “Public safety’s one thing, but to use public safety against the public to close it down…it’s not genuine.”
