Sulphur Springs Nears a Final Vote on Its First New Growth Map Since 2002

Sulphur Springs is one vote away from replacing a land-use map drawn in 2002. City leaders are also lining up a list of spending they hope future data center revenue will cover, though that money is not here yet.

This is a preview of a vote that has not happened yet. Council members unanimously approved the first reading of Ordinance 2909 on Oct. 6. A second and final reading is expected Nov. 3, according to the Sulphur Springs News-Telegram.

A plan for the next 20 to 30 years

The plan is meant to guide growth for the next 20 to 30 years. It covers land use, transportation, housing, infrastructure and economic growth. Its new future land-use map would replace the city's 2002 map, which was last amended in 2006.

Kimley-Horn, the planning and engineering firm the city hired, presented the plan after about 18 months of work. The city awarded the firm a $249,926 contract in December 2024, paid for with a $250,000 grant from the Texas General Land Office.

The city received 275 responses to an online survey. Respondents most often named traffic congestion, pedestrian infrastructure, and water and sewer infrastructure as needing improvement, and they picked planning for growth as the city's top opportunity. The plan recommends more roadway and transportation planning, better sidewalks linking neighborhoods to parks and downtown, and seeking more than one funding source for future projects.

Councilman Jay Julian said the city should not again go decades without a serious look at its long-range planning.

The plan is not meant to be a straitjacket. A zoning request that does not match it does not automatically have to be denied. The council may approve one if the council and the Planning and Zoning Commission find a significant public benefit. The plan says the reasons should be put in the public record and that exceptions should be rare.

One big piece of land is left out. The former Thermo mine property, where CyrusOne is considering a large data center campus, will go through a separate planning process.

The map already mattered once

The future land-use map was put to use the same night. The council voted to deny a request to rezone about 9.52 acres at 757 E. Shannon Road from Heavy Commercial to Light Industrial for a proposed travel center. The current map shows the site as mixed-use rather than industrial, and the Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended denial.

Ashley Toliver Jones, speaking for owners Pete and Patricia Dlugosh, said the project could help bring road improvements. "Our goal is to be a good neighbor and mitigate impact to surrounding areas," she said. Mayor Tyler Law raised concerns about traffic safety on the service road, where only about 300 feet is available near an interstate ramp. Neighbors objected to overnight truck parking, drainage and traffic. "We know it's going to develop, but we just don't want overnight parking," one resident said.

The 1895 Hopkins County Courthouse in Sulphur Springs in December 2012. Photo: Nicolas Henderson / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

A wish list waiting on the data center

The council also discussed several costly proposals but took no action on any of them.

• A new animal shelter. The current one was built in 1994. It has about 1,400 square feet and room for about 15 dogs indoors, six outside and six cats. By comparison, Mount Pleasant's shelter covers about 8,200 square feet, nearly six times the space by our math. Preliminary estimates put a new Sulphur Springs shelter at $3.3 million to $4.1 million. Resident Kelly Crawford said she had personally helped save more than 50 dogs and urged the council to build a larger shelter.

• Take-home patrol cars. The city has 21 officers who would be eligible and 10 patrol vehicles available. Officials estimated another 12 vehicles would be needed, at an initial cost of about $440,000.

• Pay and leave. The proposals include step-pay plans for police officers and firefighters, plus changes to how firefighters earn sick leave.

Officials discussed paying for these items with expected revenue from developing the Thermo property. According to the News-Telegram, that money is not yet flowing to the city and depends on the development going forward. CyrusOne says it is still evaluating a multi-building campus and has not settled on a final project. The property is also tied up in litigation over a deed restriction that limits commercial power generation. That trial has been tentatively reset for Nov. 15, 2027.

Our view

A city that last updated its land-use map 20 years ago was overdue, and the plan was paid for with a state grant rather than local tax dollars. Council members should adopt it, follow it, and do what the plan itself asks: keep exceptions rare and explain them in public.

The spending list deserves more caution. A bigger animal shelter and better tools for officers are worthy goals, but no city should commit to recurring pay plans based on revenue that depends on a data center that has not been built and land that is still in court. Other Texas cities, including Taylor and Edinburg, have been writing their own rules for data centers. Sulphur Springs should budget for the money it actually has.