The Vermilion Citizens Coalition and three parish residents have sued the Vermilion Parish Police Jury and its industrial development board, alleging eight violations of Louisiana’s Open Meetings Law during the approval process for SpaceX’s proposed $100 billion spaceport near Pecan Island, Louisiana Illuminator reports.
Filed Monday, the lawsuit seeks to void the board’s Aug. 25 approval of a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, alleging officials concealed the project through nondisclosure agreements, inadequate public notice and the use of the code name “Project Osprey” on the meeting agenda. The board, revived in July after nearly 30 years of inactivity, unanimously approved the agreement in less than 30 minutes without public comment, hours before Gov. Jeff Landry announced the project.
The lawsuit also challenges the police jury’s decision to revive the board and approve an ExxonMobil settlement without listing those actions on its original agenda, along with alleged failures to livestream meetings and provide required notices to state officials.
The SpaceX agreement calls for annual payments starting at $25 million and increasing 2% each year for 25 years, totaling roughly $800 million, plus $20 million for local infrastructure and $25 million for a charitable fund. By comparison, the property tax exemption alone is valued at nearly $23.8 billion over 25 years.
Plaintiffs say the lawsuit targets government transparency, not SpaceX, and seek to have the board’s decisions reconsidered publicly. Supporters of greater transparency say reopening the process could give residents more input and potentially improve the deal. However, overturning the board’s approval would not automatically undo separate agreements between SpaceX and the state.
