SpaceX’s New Company Town Considers Adopting NIMBY Zoning Code
Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Rent Free.
To start with a brief programming note, I’ll be off the rest of this week and early next week for some YIMBY-adjacent travel. That means there will not be a Rent Free newsletter next Tuesday.
Please accept my sincerest apologies for the coming lack of housing and urbanism content in your inbox. Perhaps readers could use the missed newsletter to reflect on all the homes, businesses, economic growth, and social opportunities we’re all missing out on because of modern zoning codes.
With that said, we still have this week’s newsletter, which takes an in-depth look at cutting-edge SpaceX’s efforts to impose a stodgy old zoning code onto its new company town.
SpaceX’s New Company Town Goes Full NIMBY With Proposed Zoning Code
Early last month, residents of the unincorporated villages near SpaceX’s launch facility in Southern Texas, right along the U.S.-Mexico border, voted to incorporate as the new city of Starbase, Texas.
With most of the area’s 218Â voting residents being SpaceX employees, the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of incorporation, which the company says will make it easier to shut down nearby beaches during its rocket launches.
Regrettably, one of the first priorities of the futuristically named town is to adopt a very old-fashioned zoning code.
As news outlets have covered, the Starbase City Commission has begun notifying residents that they potentially stand to lose the property rights they’ve enjoyed on their heretofore unzoned land under a draft zoning code.
As The Washington Post reported, Texas law does guarantee landowners’ rights to continue with legal uses of their land after the imposition of a zoning code, even if the new code would otherwise prohibit those existing uses.
Nevertheless, longtime residents have every reason to fear that the imposition of a zoning code will restrict future, potential uses of their property and reduce their property values in the process.
A close look at Starbase’s 52-page draft zoning code suggests that it’s better than some zoning regimes. But it will still do a lot to weigh down development with layers of red tape, restrictions, and process.
Grading on a Curve
The zoning maps for most major American cities, and more than a few suburban communities, are a rich mosaic of multicolored districts. That’s a bad thing.
Each color on a zoning map corresponds to a zoning district, with its own set of rules about how big buildings can be and what they can be used for.
In this respect, Starbase’s proposed zoning code calls for a simpler regulatory regime.
The draft code divides the small city into just three zoning districts: heavy industrial, open space, and mixed use.
The heavy industrial district will allow, naturally, industrial uses as well as office space and retail businesses dedicated to servicing industrial uses.
The open space zoning prohibits almost all development to preserve recreational space within the town.
The mixed-use district will meanwhile allow for a range of residential, light commercial, and office uses. This is a major improvement on the standard zoning code’s strict separation of residential and commercial uses.
Article from Reason.com
The Reason Magazine website is a go-to destination for libertarians seeking cogent analysis, investigative reporting, and thought-provoking commentary. Championing the principles of individual freedom, limited government, and free markets, the site offers a diverse range of articles, videos, and podcasts that challenge conventional wisdom and advocate for libertarian solutions. Whether you’re interested in politics, culture, or technology, Reason provides a unique lens that prioritizes liberty and rational discourse. It’s an essential resource for those who value critical thinking and nuanced debate in the pursuit of a freer society.
