September 24, 2026

The results are in: Starbase annexed everything on Monday's agenda, unanimously, and is now about seven times its original size

On Tuesday morning we told you the city hadn't posted results and we'd rather wait than guess. The regional press has since filled in the record, and Monday night played out exactly the way the statute read said a lawfully-scheduled final hearing would: every annexation item passed, unanimously. The C-4 ordinance annexing the ~7,133-acre petition area passed. The Garcia Lot pair (Ordinances 2026-24 and 2026-25, the 444.46-acre tract SpaceX petitioned in after Brownsville released it) passed. And the commission adopted the resolution of intent to annex the State Highway 4 right-of-way, the only road to the launch site. MyRGV's accounting puts the city at roughly 8,100 acres, about seven times the footprint it incorporated with sixteen months ago at about 1.5 square miles.

Two open items ride along, and we'll keep both on the board. First, Highway 4: Monday's action is intent, not annexation. Under § 43.1055, the pavement changes jurisdiction on TxDOT's written request or after a 61-day notice window with no objection, which puts the earliest handoff in late November. Whoever governs that road governs the road the closure orders close. Second, the paper trail: the C-4 petition and its signature count still haven't been published with the ordinance exhibits, and our standing line holds: we'll report the count when the record surfaces. Step back and the week reads as one motion: federal refuge land through a court-tested swap, city land through consent-lane annexation, and a state highway now on a statutory clock. Three lanes, one direction, and as of this week, results attached to each.

Sources: MyRGV (Sept. 22) — Starbase annexes 7,000 acres; intends to take portion of SH4 · RGV Business Journal (Sept. 23) — Starbase finalizes the annexation · City of Starbase — Regular Meeting Agenda, Sept. 21 (PDF)

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