As for the types of launches and the business plan, no one has bothered to enlighten us unwashed masses what the goals, objectives, type of businesses, etc.
I am purposefully being circumspect because I am under an NDA and I simply don't want to take the chance of saying something I should not. However, looking at Rocket Crafters web site and looking up their (and public officials') public comments when they committed to locate in Titusville will tell you a lot about their plans.
It's also important to note that there is a qualitative difference between vertical launches of rockets and the kinds of flights planned out of most commercial spaceports. There are essentially three kinds of vehicles. Concept X vehicles have jet engines and rocket engines in one vehicle. It would take off like a jet, climb to an altitude of 40,000 to 50,000 feet, and ignite the rockets. Concept Y vehicles are like the Rocket Racers shown at Oshkosh a few years ago, but with more thrust. They launch horizontally under rocket power, rotate to about 75 to 80 degrees nose up, and climb like the dickens. These are the most difficult to put at ANY spaceport. Concept Z vehicles are like the WhiteKnight/SpaceShip combination you might recognize from the X prize and Virgin Galactic. Again, you have the ability to travel to a protected area for rocket ignition.
The hazard with any of them is primarily that the oxidizer and fuel is collocated on one vehicle. That creates an explosive hazard should, say, the aircraft operating under jet power crash for some reason. For the X and Z vehicles, flight profiles are not nearly as difficult because you have a lot of options of where you can take the vehicle before igniting the rocket. In the case of Stratolaunch, they're talking about 1,000 mile range.
For X and Z vehicles, the chances of an errant flight in the vicinity of the airport are virtually nil -- about what you might expect of a business jet. Concept Y is a little more difficult.
Now, in this kind of spaceport licensing, there are several aspects. First is that the facility has to be licensed. This involves explosive siting, risk assessments based on population density, designation of flight corridors, emergency management plans, and other "protection of the public" matters. Then there is an environmental assessment that looks at noise and air quality concerns, as well as some additional "on the ground" considerations. That gets the facility their license. After that, the vehicle operator has to undergo its own licensing at that facility, showing that they can hit the flight corridor (or getting a new one approved) and that they can meet the vehicle reliability standards used to do the risk analysis (or do a new risk analysis). The environmental approval is type specific as well, since the noise signature of a Concept X is completely different from a Concept Y.
There is much more. But I think these are the highlights of licensing.
