The community once known as the village of Boca Chica saw the place where they built the rocket on May 3, 2025 in Brownsville, Texas near the SpaceX facility.
Gabriel Cardenas | AFP | Getty Images
Starbase, Texas, has notified some residents that they may "lose their right to continue using" their property, according to a memo obtained by CNBC.
Elon Musk's SpaceX is home to the town, and the town is considering making new zoning regulations and citywide maps.
The notice is a notice sent to the owner in the proposed “mixed use area” that will allow for “residential, office, retail and small-scale service use”.
Starbase plans to hold a public hearing on June 23, covering the town’s proposed new zoning and map. According to ValleyCentral.com, the notice was signed by Starbase’s city administrator Kent Myers.
Representatives for Starbase and SpaceX did not respond to a request for more information on Thursday.
Starbase is a "Type-C municipal company" that was officially established after Musk's aerospace and defense contractors prevailed in local elections. Now, it is run by SpaceX employees and former employees' officials.
According to the Texas Tribune, as of the beginning of this year, Starbucks had a population of about 500, and about 260 were hired by SpaceX. Most of the other Starbase residents are relatives of SpaceX employees.
The company's town includes launch facilities, SpaceX conducted test flights for large Starship rockets, and company-owned land covering 1.6 square miles of area.
Starbase will hold its first city commission meeting two days after SpaceX's ninth test flight from a Texas Coast facility.
The rocket exploded during test flights, marking a catastrophic loss and settling aerospace and defense contractors for the third consecutive setback. After the incident, Musk also led the Teslafocusing on the data and lessons learned from the explosion.
The FAA said there were “no reports of public injuries or loss of public property” on Wednesday.
The interstellar spacecraft system was developed to transport people and equipment around the Earth and on the moon, and Musk envisioned one day to colonize Mars.
On Thursday, April 17, 2025, the SpaceX Starbase Industrial Complex and Rocket Launch Facility in Bocachica, Texas, USA.
Mark Felix | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Since 2008, Musk's rocket makers have signed more than $20 billion in government contracts and are ready to collect billions of dollars each year in the coming years.
Building Starbase as a corporate town helps SpaceX get a nearly unbound license to build, test or launch from its industrial complex on the Texas Gulf Coast.
The town is still trying to win the ability to close major roads and beaches for launch activities within a week without seeking municipal or other authority.
This is the text of the partition memorandum sent to the constellation residents:
May 21, 2025
Dear zodiac property owner/property occupant,
Hereby notify that, in view of the Starbucks City Council's public hearings will be held at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, June 23, 2025, at the Constellation Temporary City Hall, 39046 LBJ Boulevard, Brownsville, TX 78521, to listen to public comments to examine public comments and to the Zoning Zoning ofersive sodinions of Zonering Zoning and City of City and City and City and City and City and City and City and City and City and City and City and City and City and City and City and City and City and City and City and City and City and City and City.
Our goal is to ensure that zoning plans reflect the city’s vision for balanced growth, protecting key economic drivers, ensuring public safety and protecting green spaces. You are receiving this notice because you have the properties listed above, and the property will be located in the "Mixed Use Zone" and will be affected if the zoning regulations are approved.
Mixed use areas allow the use of residential, office, retail and small-scale services to be integrated. The proposed partition diagram is accompanied by this notice. You can view the zoning bill on the city’s website 72 hours before the above public hearing.
The city is required to notify you of the following: The City of Starbase holds a hearing that determines whether you may lose the right to continue using your property for current use, please read this notice carefully. Article 211.006 of Texas Local Government Regulations (A-1) requires the above notice. The proposed partitioning regulations are based on current and existing uses.
Contact City Administrator Kent Myers (Delete email address) Have any questions or written comments. Your written comments must be submitted by 3:00 pm on June 22, 2025. Public comments can also be made at the above public hearing.
Best wishes,
Kent Myers
City administrator, Zodiac city
(Address has been edited)
cityofstarbase-texas.com
Correction: This article has been updated to identify Kent Myers as the newly hired city administrator. A previous version of this story mistakenly recognized him.