TITLE 31. NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION
PART 1. GENERAL LAND OFFICE
CHAPTER 15. COASTAL AREA PLANNING
SUBCHAPTER
A.
The General Land Office (GLO) adopts new 31 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §15.38, relating to certification status of the Dune Protection and Beach Access Plan for the City of Starbase, Texas (City), without changes to the proposed text.
The proposed rule was published in the October 24, 2025 issue of the Texas Register (50 TexReg 6990) and will not be republished.
The GLO adopts new §15.38 to certify the City of Starbase's Dune Protection and Beach Access Plan (Plan) as consistent with state law.
Copies of the Plan may be obtained by contacting the GLO or the City of Starbase.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND JUSTIFICATION
Pursuant to the Open Beaches Act (OBA), Texas Natural Resources Code (Tex. Nat. Res. Code) Chapter 61, the Dune Protection Act (DPA), Tex. Nat. Res. Code Chapter 63, Tex. Nat. Res. Code §33.607, and 31 TAC §§15.3, 15.7, and 15.17, each local government with ordinance authority over construction adjacent to public beaches is required to adopt a plan for preserving and enhancing access to and use of public beaches and dune protection within the jurisdiction of the local government and submit its plan to the GLO for certification. If appropriate, the GLO will certify that the Plan and Erosion Response Plan (ERP) is consistent with state law by adoption or amendment of a rule, as authorized in Tex. Nat. Res. Code §§61.011(d)(5), 61.015(b), and 63.121. The certification by rule reflects the State's certification of the plan; however, the text of the plan is not adopted by the GLO, as explained in 31 TAC §15.3(o)(4).
The DPA and 31 TAC §15.3 provide that a county may allow a municipality within the county to administer the DPA within its corporate limits and extraterritorial jurisdiction. Each municipality administering the DPA is required to establish a dune protection line and dune protection plan with procedures and requirements governing the review and approval of dune permits.
On May 3, 2025 residents of Cameron County (County) voted to incorporate Starbase as a Type C municipality within the State of Texas. Thereafter, on September 17th, 2025 the City passed Resolution No. 2025-09-17-D03-RE requesting that the County delegate authority to administer the DPA, to the City. On September 23rd, 2025 the County delegated the authority to administer the DPA to the City through Cameron County Commissioners Court Order No. 2025O09098.
On September 25th, 2025, the Starbase City Commission passed Ordinance No. 2025-09-25-F01-OR, adopting the City's Plan and ERP. The City provided public notice of the hearing on the proposed Plan and ERP and establishment of the dune protection line through publication in the Brownsville Herald on September 3rd, September 6th, and September 10th, 2025 in accordance with Tex. Nat. Res. Code § 63.013 and 31 TAC §15.3(l) and §15.17(c). On September 26th, 2025 the City submitted the proposed Plan and ERP to the GLO for certification.
COMMENTS
The 30-day comment period ended on November 24, 2025. During this period, the GLO did not receive any comments regarding the proposed rule.
ANALYSIS OF PLAN AND GLO'S AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 15 ADDING NEW SECTION 31 TAC §15.38.
The City's Plan establishes the dune protection line at 1,000 feet landward of mean high tide, at the maximum extent of a local government's jurisdiction for establishing dune protection lines. The Plan also establishes procedures and requirements for dune protection permits seaward of the dune protection line and beachfront construction certificates within 1,000 feet landward of mean high tide or seaward of the first public road, whichever is greater, consistent with 31 TAC Chapter 15.
The City's Plan establishes an eroding area boundary in accordance with 31 TAC §15.2(32) at whichever distance landward of the line of vegetation is greater: 200 feet, or the distance determined by multiplying 50 years by the annual historical erosion rate (based on the most recent GLO approved data published by the University of Texas at Austin, Bureau of Economic Geology). All areas seaward of the eroding area boundary are considered an eroding area under the Plan and all applicable eroding area standards apply in that area.
The City's Plan prohibits the use of impervious surfaces seaward of the eroding area boundary in accordance with 31 TAC §15.6(f). Impervious surfaces may be used landward of the eroding area boundary, except where they would cause ponding, channeling or dune destabilization or where they would materially weaken dunes or materially damage dune vegetation. The allowance of impervious surfaces landward of the eroding area boundary complies with 31 TAC §15.6(f) since the Plan establishes eroding areas as the areas seaward of the eroding area boundary.
The City's ERP establishes a building setback line coextensive with the eroding area boundary. Except for construction of public amenities and beach access improvements, the City's Plan and ERP prohibit the construction, placement, or maintenance of a permanent structure seaward of the eroding area boundary and building setback line, unless a property owner qualifies for an exemption by demonstrating that there are no practicable alternatives to construction seaward of the eroding area boundary or building setback line.
The City's Plan and ERP provide stricter construction requirements for exempt properties. All exempt construction must provide plans and certifications for the structure by a registered professional engineer licensed in the State of Texas demonstrating a minimum two-foot freeboard above base flood elevation (BFE), no enclosures below BFE, feasible relocation of the habitable structure, compliance with the specifications in American Society of Civil Engineers, Structural Engineering Institute, Flood Resistant Design and Construction, ASCE 24-05, and that construction is designed to minimize impacts on natural hydrology. Construction should also be located landward of the toe of the foredune ridge, where practicable.
The Plan's prohibition on construction of new structures and impervious surfaces seaward of the eroding area boundary and building setback line provides increased protection for areas at higher risk of damage from flooding and erosion and reduces the risk of public expenditures for erosion and storm damage losses to public and private property. These restrictions also promote a continuous critical dune area that will help provide protection from erosion and storms and provides a vegetative buffer between development and the beach.
Pursuant to the enrollment of House Bill 5246, the 89th Legislature amended Tex. Govt. Code §482.107(8), effective September 1, 2025 to allow the Texas Space Commission (Space Commission) to issue an order, subject to the approval of the municipality's governing body, to temporarily close a highway, venue, or "Gulf Beach" as specified by Tex. Nat. Res. Code §33.203(11), which includes areas of Boca Chica beach.
On September 23, 2025 the Space Commission, pursuant to new Tex. Gov't Code §482.107(a)(8), issued standing Order No. 2025-01 authorizing the City to temporarily close a highway as defined by Tex. Transp. Code §221.001, or the "Gulf Beach" during space flight activities. Such temporary closures are necessary to safeguard public safety and operational security in furtherance of state aerospace policy and will be issued only as necessary consistent with the requirements in 43 Texas Administrative Code §22.12. The City shall ensure that a safety zone perimeter is established in coordination with law enforcement and entities conducting space flight activities. The Order ensures the following dates remain available to the public for recreational use and will not be subject to any access limitations:
1) the Saturday or Sunday preceding Memorial Day;
2) Memorial Day;
3) July 4;
4) a Saturday or Sunday preceding Labor Day; or
5) Labor Day.
In addition to the authority to close the Gulf Beach under the Space Commission Order, the City, pursuant to 31 TAC §15.7, is authorized to close the public beach in cases of emergencies related to public health and safety and must notify the GLO as soon as practicable upon the closure and reopening of the beach. Such emergency closures must be minimized in scope and duration.
The City's Plan follows additional closure related provisions that are more protective of the public's access and use of the beach than the limitations on access restrictions outlined in the Space Commission's Order. These additional provisions in the adopted Plan are consistent with the access requirements related to spaceflight activities included in the Mitigated Finding of No Significant Impact and Record of Decision for the Final Tiered Environmental Assessment (Mitigated FONSI/ROD), issued by the Federal Aviation Administration on April 24, 2025.
The Mitigated FONSI/ROD states that there shall be no State Highway 4 access restrictions on the following:
1.) Memorial Day
a.) Memorial Day to Labor Day (the times of greatest visitor beach uses and enjoyment), no Weekend Access Restrictions from Friday at 6:00 a.m. through Sunday.
b.) Road access restrictions for any space flight activities would occur from Monday through Friday at 6:00 a.m. This predictive schedule ensures the public access to all open areas of the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge (e.g., Boca Chica Beach) from Friday at 6:00 a.m. through Sunday from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
c.) When a space flight activity requires at least one road access restriction between Fridays at 6:00 a.m. and Sundays from Memorial Day to Labor Day, or on weekends from the day after Labor Day to the day before Memorial Day, it is considered a "Weekend Access Restriction."
d.) Weekend Access Restrictions may be requested up to five times per calendar year;
2.) Labor Day
a.) From the day after Labor Day to the day before Memorial Day (throughout the winter months), no Weekend Access Restrictions on Saturday or Sunday;
3.) July 4th;
4) Martin Luther King Jr. Day;
5) Presidents' Day;
6) Texas Independence Day;
7) Cesar Chavez Day;
8) Emancipation Day in Texas (also referred to as Juneteenth);
9) Veteran's Day;
10) Good Friday;
11) Easter;
12) Father's Day;
13) Mother's Day;
14) Thanksgiving Day, no access restrictions shall be permitted from Thanksgiving Day through the Sunday immediately following Thanksgiving;
15) Christmas Day; and
16) New Year's Day ("Holidays").
If any Holiday falls on a Monday or Friday, no Weekend Access Restrictions shall be permitted.
In accordance with the April 24, 2025 Mitigated FONSI/ROD, to reduce impacts to recreational users the City shall provide forty-eight (48) hours notice of any road and beach closure through its official website: www.starbase.texas.gov/.
A copy of the Final Tiered EA may also be obtained from the FAA's website: www.faa.gov/space/stakeholder_engagement/spacex_starship.
If a future FAA Mitigated FONSI/ROD modifies the dates of public beach access closures, increases the duration or total number of hours of closures in excess of the 2025 Mitigated FONSI/ROD, or changes the public notice process, express written GLO approval will be required prior to implementation by the City.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY
The new rule is adopted as authorized by Tex. Gov. Code §482.107(8) and Tex. Nat. Res. Code §§33.602, 33.607, 61.011, 61.015(b), 61.022 (b) & (c), 63.091, and 63.121, which provide the GLO with the authority to adopt rules governing the preservation and enhancement of the public's right to access and use public beaches and certification of local government beach access and dune protection plans as consistent with state law.
Tex. Nat. Res. Code §§33.602, 33.607, 61.011, 61.015(b), 61.022 (b) & (c), 63.091, and 63.121 are affected by the adopted new rule.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on December 5, 2025.
TRD-202504438
Jennifer Jones
Chief Clerk and Deputy Land Commissioner
General Land Office
Effective date: December 25, 2025
Proposal publication date: October 24, 2025
For further information, please call: (512) 475-1859