SpaceX requests special election to make Starbase newest Cameron County city

BOCA CHICA, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Starbase community, which has laid roots at Boca Chica beach to facilitate its space activity, is requesting to be incorporated as an official city in Cameron County.

A letter dated Dec. 12 was sent to Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño from Starbase General Manager Kathryn Lueders.

The petition requests an election to determine if Starbase should be incorporated as a city.

Starbase is home to the development and production of SpaceX's Starship rocket. A rocket SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says is the first step in human interplanetary exploration.

Cited in the letter are references to the contribution that Starbase has on generating hundreds of millions in income and taxes for local businesses and government, all to make South Texas "the Gateway to Mars."

With SpaceX's rapid growth, Cameron County is home to thousands of SpaceX employees, hundreds of which live in Starbase.

Lueders states that incorporating Starbase as the Rio Grande Valley's newest city would streamline the process required to build amenities necessary to make the area a world-class place to live.

"As you know, through agreements with the County, SpaceX currently performs several civil
functions around Starbase due to its remote location, including management of the roads,
utilities, and the provision of schooling and medical care for the residents. Incorporation
would move the management of some of these functions to a more appropriate public body," the letter stated.

To read the full letter, see below:

The Cameron County Judge has not publicly replied to the request.