Officials in Starbase, a city incorporated in May 2025, have approved an initial measure to significantly expand its borders by annexing roughly 7,133 acres.
The city advanced the motion during its Feb. 18 meeting; the annexed property would consist of 7,003 acres of land and around 130 acres of public right-of-way. The process is extremely early on, with several significant steps needing to be taken before annexation can move forward, but the City Council’s unanimous vote gets the ball rolling.
However, despite the city’s interest in expansion, it has numerous hurdles blocking its path. Out of the 7,133 acres slated for annexation, more than half is owned by the state and federal governments, including protected land. The new parcels would extend the city limits east to Boca Chico and south to the Rio Grande.
Notably, should the annexation receive full approval, the city would incorporate parts of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge and 1,000 acres owned by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, including Boca Chica State Park. The resulting purchase would spring the city’s current 927 acres to approximately 8,000.
Starbase’s next steps will be to hold a public hearing for property owners on the city’s intent to annex their property. The city may then proceed with a petition annexing some or all of the property that will be sent to property owners. The petition will be circulated for 31 days after the public hearing and then continue for at least 180 days before final action can be taken.
After annexation, the city will provide its services to all covered areas, including police, fire, emergency medical, solid waste collection, and operation and maintenance of water and wastewater facilities, roads, streets, parks, playgrounds, swimming pools and any other publicly owned facility.
Photo by Alexander Hatley from Spring, Texas, USA, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, from Wikimedia Commons
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