The city of Starbase, established in 2025 to support Elon Musk's SpaceX operations, is requesting residents consider a sweeping annexation of roughly 7,100 acres of land in south Texas, encompassing both state-owned and privately held property near the Gulf of Mexico.
The proposed expansion has ignited opposition from environmental advocates and property owners who fear the growing influence of SpaceX in the region. Bekah Hinojosa, who helped establish the South Texas Environmental Justice Center, described the transformation underway along Highway 4 toward Boca Chica Beach, where large commercial trucks and Cybertrucks now regularly travel past construction zones.
"SpaceX is rapidly colonizing and changing the entire landscape of Boca Chica," Hinojosa told NPR.
According to documentation Starbase distributed to neighboring property owners and published online, the annexation would facilitate "more efficient coordination with federal and state partners including the Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services and others."
The city's formation was driven partly by SpaceX's need to expand its workforce and enhance manufacturing capabilities for additional rocket launches. In April 2025, the Federal Aviation Administration granted SpaceX permission to significantly increase operations from its Boca Chica Launch Site. The FAA authorization permits "up to 25 annual Starship/Super Heavy orbital launches, up to 25 annual landings of Starship, up to 25 annual landings of Super Heavy, and vehicle upgrades," according to the agency's documentation.
These developments align with Musk's stated ambition to construct a launch complex capable of sending humans to the moon and ultimately Mars. The existing SpaceX facility houses launch pads, manufacturing operations, and testing sites. During launches, Starbase controls access to a nearby beach and nature reserve.
Barbara Buckner, a 56-year-old landowner whose grandmother fled Poland as a Holocaust survivor before settling in Chicago and purchasing south Texas property, expressed skepticism about the city's priorities. "How can you be supporting residents when you work for SpaceX?" Buckner told NPR.
Her concern stems from the fact that Starbase mayor Robert "Bobby" Peden and one of the city's two commissioners are SpaceX employees. Peden did not respond to multiple interview requests from NPR.
Buckner believes the current proposal represents only the initial phase of expansion. "I think they'll keep trying to expand," she told NPR.
Gerold Podraza, an 83-year-old property owner, also opposes the annexation plan. "It just represents that the people who have money are able to do things that they, shouldn't be allowed to do," Podraza told NPR. "The only reason why that's happening is because they have leverage with politicians, and they can influence politicians to make judgments that are not good for the community that they represent."
Environmental concerns loom large for opponents. NPR previously reported in 2024 that federal regulators determined SpaceX violated the Clean Water Act when tens of thousands of gallons of industrial wastewater flowed into surrounding areas. Hinojosa worries expanded launch operations could compound such problems.
"I've come out here several times after a SpaceX launch to document all of the debris," Hinojosa told NPR. "I have photos of metal shrapnel blown up into this area that we're on."
SpaceX did not provide responses to NPR's inquiries regarding environmental impacts from its launch activities.
Sofia Benavides, the Cameron County Commissioner whose district includes Starbase, indicated that existing statutes permit the city to pursue annexation. "There's nothing that we can do to stop it," Benavides told NPR.
The city faces a deadline of Tuesday, August 18 to receive feedback from affected landowners regarding the annexation proposal and assess whether sufficient signatures have been obtained to proceed. Following that deadline, Starbase must conduct two public hearings before a September vote on whether to approve the annexation.
The South Texas Environmental Justice Center is exploring potential legal challenges to block the annexation. "They call it Starbase. You pull the curtain back, it's the SpaceX annexation," Hinojosa told NPR. "SpaceX threatens the Rio Grande Valley. And that's why we'll continue to resist."
