The settlement for a federal lawsuit filed by SpaceX against the California Coastal Commission includes the agency providing  a written apology for political bias and agreeing that the company does not need a state permit for launch activities at Vandenberg Space Force Base.

The deal unsealed in federal court this week resolves the lawsuit filed by SpaceX after an October 2024 Coastal Commission meeting where the military sought the state agency’s concurrence on a federal consistency determination regarding boosting the number of SpaceX rocket launches from Vandenberg. 

During the meeting, some members lashed out at the political activities of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and objected to allowing the firm’s launch rate at Vandenberg to rise from 36 to 50.

Strong differences have divided commissioners and the military regarding whether SpaceX operations should be classified as a federal activity or a private business.

That’s the difference between getting a federal consistency determination or having to go through a more rigorous and expensive process to obtain a coastal development permit.

Terms of the lawsuit’s settlement appear to have ended the dispute by declaring that “in perpetuity” the Coastal Commission would not require a coastal development permit for any Falcon rocket activity at Space Launch Complex-4 or Space Launch Complex-6.

The agreement also included a three-paragraph apology letter dated April 18 and signed by vice chair Caryl Hart and addressed to “Dear SpaceX.”

Current chair Meagan Harmon, who serves on the Santa Barbara City Council, abstains from SpaceX matters since a relative works for a different firm at Vandenberg.

She was among individuals named in the lawsuit although she recused herself from discussion and the vote at the October 2024 meeting. Harmon still had to sign the settlement pact.

The apology notes the agency’s mission defined in the California Coastal Act is to protect and enhance the coast. One method to achieve the mission is through the consistency review process in the federal Coastal Zone Management Act. 

However, some commissioners veered beyond the coastal issues, making critical comments about the company’s labor practices and Musk’s politics. 

“The commission acknowledges that these political comments were irrelevant to the commission’s consistency review and were improper. Commissioners apologize for these comment,” the letter states.

While the pact details when the coastal permit isn’t needed, some disputes remain, including off-base activities related to SpaceX rocket launches.

“The commission’s position, which SpaceX reserves its right to dispute, is that off-base development includes, for example, closures of Jalama County Beach Park or depositions of solid material in the ocean in the California coastal zone, and does not include, for example, barge or similar marine vessel trips or overflights over the California coastal zone, including associated noise,” the letter states.

The agreement affirmed the Coastal Commission’s prior decision that the military imposed adequate mitigation measures for discarded weather balloon equipment, and that it won’t require the permit for that activity. 

SpaceX also is required to provide data gathered while monitoring sonic boom impacts at the Channel Islands.

With maps included to define SpaceX areas around SLC-4 and SLC-6, the agreement calls for both sides to confer if those definitions change or to use a dispute-resolution process, if needed.

SLC-4 has been SpaceX’s lone launch site at Vandenberg for Falcon 9, but the firm intends to convert SLC-6 for both Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy missions. 

San Francisco-based attorney Tyler Welti from Venable LLP filed the lawsuit on behalf of SpaceX.

Meanwhile, the Coastal Commission said in a written statement that “serious concerns” remain about the increased launch activity on coastal resources.

The state cited concerns such as restrictions on public coastal access, harm to sensitive species and coastal habitat, as well as the frequency and intensity of sonic booms. 

“Federal law requires the federal government to provide information to and coordinate with the Coastal Commission on such issues. The federal government has yet to provide sufficient information to the Coastal Commission about these activities and their impact on the California coast,” the commission wrote.

“Moving forward, the Coastal Commission sincerely hopes that it can resolve these issues in coordination with federal officials in order to safeguard California’s precious coastal resources.”

In 2025, SpaceX conducted more than 60 Falcon rocket launches from Vandenberg.

So far this year, SpaceX has launched more than two dozen Falcon flights from the West Coast, with another planned between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. Wednesday from the base.