Editorial: Starbase wish to be a city raises questions, concerns from many in community

One of the issues that will be decided in the May 3 election is the incorporation of the SpaceX rocket-launching complex as an independent city. Many people have questions and concerns about the issue and what it might mean, especially regarding continued access to Boca Chica Beach, a popular location for fishing, camping or just sunning oneself on the jetties.

The incorporation will include the rocket production and launch site as well as the old Boca Chica Village, formerly Kopernik Shores, housing development nearby, which the company has bought up over the years.

The bid for incorporation, which SpaceX announced in a Dec. 12 letter to Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. requesting the election, shouldn’t be a surprise; it likely was tipped off when the complex’s founder (developer?), Elon Musk, stated in 2021 that the compound would be known as Starbase. Cameron County and the city of Brownsville have both passed resolutions acknowledging the name change.

Several questions can be cleared up. The first is that the only people who will vote on this issue are those who will be directly affected — namely the people who live there, who are all SpaceX employees.

People who oppose SpaceX’s development or expansion, or are worried about beach access or the environmental impact of its operations, can’t vote against it.

Some public concerns might not be realized, such as those regarding loss of access. State Highway 4, which leads to the beach, is a state highway and local restrictions, even by an incorporated city, would be limited. The Texas Public Beaches Act also protects public access to the area in most cases.

Incorporation would provide many options for Starbase, and probably some responsibilities. As a municipality, the site could seek public funding for road maintenance, establishment of a school and other functions that it can’t do or must fund itself as a private entity.

Another financial consideration could involve revenue. So far only test launches have occurred here, but Musk has said manned Starship flights, even to Mars, will begin here. Once they do, will Starbase be able to retain some of the tax revenue that otherwise might be shared with the county?

A municipality also could annex property and better ensure its expansion. This is likely for the housing development, which currently houses a few hundred people but could grow to thousands now that this location has been designated as SpaceX headquarters. Starbase initially is seeking incorporation as a Type C municipality, a designation for populations between 201 and 4,999 residents.

As a public entity, however, Starbase should have to abide by transparency laws that require public access to some records that it might not have to disclose as a private entity. A Type C township can have a government including a mayor and two councilmembers, and their meetings, both formal and informal, as well as their pronouncements and most records, must be accessible to the public.

Starbase as an incorporated city surely will benefit SpaceX. Laws governing cities, however, could create responsibilities that could benefit the South Texas public at large.

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