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Alejandra Yañez | THE RIDER
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk needs 10% of Boca Chica Village residents’ signatures on a petition as the first step in his plan to turn the unincorporated city into Starbase, Texas, a UTRGV professor says.
Asked what the steps are to establish a city, Clyde Barrow, a UTRGV political science professor and department chair, replied that the process is specified in the Texas Constitution.
“The way that you create a new city in Texas is specified in the state constitution and that process really has very little role for Elon Musk to play,” Barrow said.
He said there are several different types of cities provided for in the constitution. The two main ones are called home rule cities and general law cities.
“To be a home rule city, which would be like Edinburg or McAllen, where they have their own municipal charter, it has to have at least a population of 5,000, which Boca Chica does not,” Barrow said. “So, Boca Chica would come in at the lowest end of what can be a city, which is called a Type C general-law city, because its population is not even 600.”
To be considered a Type B or A city, the population of the region must be at least 600, and Boca Chica is not.
Barrow said the process for becoming a Type C city is fairly simple.
“Somebody has to circulate a petition among the residents of the town,” he said. “They have to gather at least 10% of the signatures of registered voters in that geographical area. They take that to the county judge, which would be the Cameron County judge. If he certifies those signatures, then the county is required to hold an election on whether or not to incorporate as a city. And, essentially, if a majority of those voting vote yes, it becomes a Type C general-law city.”
Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. addressed Musk’s plan in his March 8 news conference.
“There was a tweet where he said he wanted to open up or establish Starbase or Star City,” Treviño said. “I forgot what it’s called. I’m not on Twitter. But he’s bought out most of [the residents’ properties], and I know there’s still some individuals that live out there. He’ll have to follow the same rules and regulations of any group that would like to incorporate. So, no special exception for SpaceX just because that’s what he’d like to do.”
In a March 2 news release, Treviño’s office said Cameron County was officially approached by SpaceX regarding Musk’s interest in incorporating Boca Chica Village into the City of Starbase, Texas.
“Cameron County will process any appropriate petitions in conformity with applicable law,” Treviño stated in the news release.
Essentially, the next step lies in the hands of the residents of Boca Chica Village to decide whether or not it will become a city and if it will change its name.
“Theoretically, somebody like Elon Musk could pay somebody, you know, to gather signatures and act as an organizer, but that would really be the only role he could actually play in it,” Barrow said. “It’d have to be the initiative of the residents of Boca Chica that have to vote to approve it. There’s really nothing Elon Musk can do on his own to make that happen.”
He said the name change would have to be included on the ballot provision.
“They could vote to change the name, but that’s all in the initiative of the residents of Boca Chica to make that decision,” Barrow said.
Asked how long the process typically takes, he replied it could be done fairly quickly depending on the amount of time it takes for residents to gather the 10% of voter signatures on a petition and when the county judge wants to schedule the election.
“My guess is, they’d schedule it with some other election, like the November elections,” Barrow said. “You know, it’s conceivable in a place as small as Boca Chica that it could happen as early as this November, but that all assumes that the residents of Boca Chica want to incorporate it as a city and change their name.”
SCREENSHOT TAKEN FROM ELON MUSK’S TWITTER ACCOUNT
Janice Llukltun, a Brownsville native, said she believes Musk is trying to gentrify Boca Chica Village.
“I feel like changing the name itself, I feel like it’s pretty much a textbook definition of what gentrification is,” Llukltun said. “It’s not really acknowledging the people that live here, that made the city what it was.”
She said she fears Musk will drive people out of the unincorporated community, as he has already begun to do by buying out residents.
“I did grow up in Brownsville my whole life, and I’ve noticed that the community here is very united and all about being from different cultural backgrounds,” Llukltun said. “And I feel like when it comes to Elon Musk coming here, he’s not really trying to understand or have a personal connection with the people that live here. It’s really for his own personal gain. … I feel like, even though it’ll drive popularity and tourism, I feel like it’s just gonna drive the native population out.”
Asked how she believes SpaceX’s presence in the Rio Grande Valley will affect the community, she replied, “For some people, it may be really exciting or really cool and may, like, bring a name to the Valley, but I feel like, in the long term, it may not end well. … Although, it’s really new and exciting, it’s not an intrinsically good idea.”
