Your Harlingen recommendation is a good one. That’s especially so given that SpaceX is already committed to building a new spaceport nearby in Brownsville. Harlingen already has a modest base of aerospace workers employed at a ULA plant there that makes Atlas V payload fairings among other things. Based on recent ULA announcements, at least some of that work is going to be moved to Decatur, AL. The plant might even be closed entirely. So this would be a good time for SpaceX to be looking at what operations it might usefully relocate to Harlingen.

The “no-fly” thing probably just means SpaceX will actually find something useful to do with its modest investment at Spaceport America. It could move all Dragonfly test operations there now that it looks as though its original plans to use the site for additional test flights of F9R Dev2 have been overtaken and rendered redundant by the rapid progress made on actual recoveries of Falcon 9 1st stages. Spaceport America would, I’m certain, be delighted to get the work. It could even lead to SpaceX conducting a much larger and more impressive Dragonfly-like test program there a few years hence when it comes time to wring out the much larger MCT lander. Tests of that puppy might even become a tourist attraction.

And, if the incipient NIMBY-ism in McGregor becomes too annoying, SpaceX can always stand up some City Council candidates of their own to challenge the current city administration. The population of McGregor is only about 5,000. I don’t know how many employees SpaceX has at the McGregor site, but they have a dozen or so positions currently advertised for so I’m guessing over 100 but probably not over 300. If these employees all live within the McGregor city limits they would constitute a significant voting bloc in any local election. If most of them live, say, in Waco, though, this approach wouldn’t work.

It certainly reads that way. It looks like the city council has set fines high enough to get some real revenue, but low enough that SpaceX may not mind being a scofflaw and paying fines for violations. I think it may depend upon whether SpaceX is willing to be a bad neighbor and pay the fines or if they want to be seen as a good company. They may keep their McGregor test facility only for the smaller and quieter tests.

SpaceX Has already moved some of their testing to Spaceport America in New Mexico:
http://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/spacex-is-moving-its-grasshopper-test-program-to-new-mexicos-spaceport/

From a newsletter of a year ago:
http://spaceportamerica.com/newsletters/spaceport-america-newsletter-january-2015/
“SpaceX has invested approximately $2 million in improvements to its launch area at the spaceport and is planning to begin flight testing the Falcon 9R in the spring.”

Depends heavily whether these are put forth as ‘Zoning Restrictions’ or just ‘ City Ordinances.’
-Courts rarely if ever, touch Zoning, on the theory the locals can replace their Council Members via the ballot-box, if zoning gets out of hand.
(“retro-active Zoning rules” are unconstitutional, but good luck with challenging those. Looks like SpaceX just acquired a new “partner” in the City Council.)

SpaceX would have shaky “standing” to challenge these, unless & until they violated the rules, at which point they could proceed.

So if a grocery store balloon is released, that would violate the law. As they say, if you want to have an unpopular law repealed, enforce it.

However, what appears to be a change in McGregor’s regulations seems typical of the kinds of things that make it harder to accomplish anything in this once-free country. What has changed from the time that SpaceX first moved into McGregor and now to make the town change the regulations?

Any idea on the motivations behind the new restrictions and regulations?