Starbase looks to grow city by annexation, adding 1,200 acres next to SpaceX

The city of Starbase — a municipality formed around SpaceX’s rocket launch site at Boca Chica Beach — is preparing to expand again. 

Officials are expected to vote Wednesday on annexing 1,256 acres of nearby land, a move that would expand the city’s footprint and extend its reach further into Cameron County’s coastal area, public records show.

Starbase plans to host a public hearing to expand its extraterritorial jurisdiction and then vote to annex the land into city limits. The city’s ETJ must be expanded to encompass the new city boundaries, according to Starbase’s agenda packet posted about 7 p.m. Tuesday. The agenda itself was posted last week, and the packet was added after an inquiry by the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal.  

The vote comes just two days after SpaceX successfully launched its eleventh test rocket into space.

In late August, the U.S. Corps of Engineers issued a public notice to create the Rockhands Preservation Bank, a proposed environmental preservation project aimed at offsetting the expansion of the Starbase launch area. The launch site, in the dunes of Boca Chica Beach, is slated for a 21-acre expansion, which would affect 5.8 acres of wetland and 9.6 acres of tidal flats. 

The largest expanse of land proposed for annexation, spanning 1,212 acres, is divided between two tracts, which deed records show are owned by Lower Texas Coastal Mitigation LLC. The company has offices in the Houston area, including Crosby and Humble. 

Lower Texas Coastal Mitigation is controlled by Rampart Properties LLC, which is co-owned by James H. Carpenter and James J. Janke, Texas incorporation records show.

In the early 2000s, Rampart Capital Corporation was a publicly traded company controlled by Carpenter and Charles W. Janke, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission records show. 

The two other land parcels under consideration for annexation are 21 acres and 22 acres, respectively, inside the Rio Grande Beach subdivision.  

However, the city of Starbase describes the landowner of the parcels to be annexed as SpaceX in its agenda packet. 

Starbase is expected to provide city services to the 1,200-acre annexation for 10 years, according to its municipal services agreement. 

Annexations accelerate as city boundaries shift

The city has been frequently annexing more land into its city boundaries over the past few months, according to its public records. In May, Starbase was 927 acres inside Cameron County. Although it was unclear exactly how many acres the city encompasses as of mid-October, due to the flurry of map changes resulting from annexation.  

Starbase did not respond to an interview request for this news story. 

The initially proposed boundaries of Starbase, Texas, included 247 lots of residential units, about 10 of which were not owned by SpaceX or its employees as of December 2024, according to the city’s application with Cameron County. 

Most of the residential homes were tiny homes leased by individuals, records show. 

Property values and ties to SpaceX

In July, Cameron County estimated that the market value of all real property inside the city of Starbase was $371 million. When business personal property was included, the total appraised value was $790 million. About $10.4 million of which is exempt through tax abatement, records show. 

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and its subsidiary, including DogLeg Park LLC, own nearly 500 parcels of land in Cameron County with an appraised value of $364,042,188, appraisal district records showed on Tuesday. 

That’s only real property; it doesn’t include personal property, which is the value of the objects inside a building, such as computers or manufacturing materials in warehouses. 

The largest real property account, described as the buildings and improvements associated with Starbase, is appraised at $334,500,060 alone. 

The city of Starbase is likely to approve the annexation measure as city leaders and elected officials have close ties to SpaceX, records show.