Sherman adopts updated zoning map on cusp of unprecedented growth

As major manufacturers of semiconductor chips expand with massive projects in Sherman, the city has adopted an updated zoning map to position for surging growth.

The new map, approved by the Sherman City Council on Feb. 6 and put in effect immediately, reflects new zoning district classifications and zoning changes made in recent months to various properties. It replaces the city’s zoning map adopted on Feb. 7, 2022.

A city ordinance adopted along with the revised map sets a penalty of up to $2,000 per day for anyone constructing any building that's not in conformity with the permissible uses under the map.

The updated map comes as the city stands on the cusp of unprecedented growth.

In 2021 and 2022, two major semiconductor manufacturers announced multibillion-dollar projects that position Sherman to become a hub for future tech development.

Between the two deals, the city of about 45,000 people on the shores of Lake Texoma has secured commitments of more than $35 billion in investment and the promise of thousands of jobs from corporations that make semiconductors.

In May 2022, Dallas-based Texas Instruments (Nasdaq: TI) broke ground on the first fabrication facility in what's expected to be a four-factory, $30 billion semiconductor manufacturing campus in Sherman. According to TI, the first fab aims to produce tens of thousands of 300-millimeter wafer semiconductor chips a day by 2025. Texas Instruments recently cranked up production in a similar factory in Richardson.

Government and Texas Instruments officials gathered in Sherman for a groundbreaking event for a new chip manufacturing facility. The new site will eventually have four factories and could see an investment of up to $30 billion.

Government and Texas Instruments officials gathered in Sherman for a groundbreaking event for a new chip manufacturing facility. The new site will eventually have four factories and could see an investment of up to $30 billion.

At full buildout, if rolled out as planned, TI’s Sherman campus will be the biggest electronics production facility in Texas and among the largest manufacturing facilities in the country.

And in June 2022, GlobiTech, a subsidiary of Taiwan-based GlobalWafers Co., signed on to build a $5 billion semiconductor manufacturing plant in Sherman. That project is expected to bring 1,500 jobs.

The Texas Enterprise Fund contributed a $15 million grant for the GlobiTech project, and the Sherman Economic Development Corp. offered $20 million in cash payments plus the sale of roughly 150 acres of land valued at more than $14 million.In addition, the city of Sherman, Grayson County and Grayson College all offered tax incentives, plus the city threw in a deep discount on water bills for the water-intensive industry.

While the economic incentives offered to GlobiTech amount to relatively big money by Texas standards, they’re pocket change compared to incentives used to lure other manufacturing industry moves and expansions nationwide, according to the 2022 Economic Incentives Deal Summary by Dallas-based Site Selection Group.

The top six incentives in the nation last year for firms in the manufacturing industry all topped $1 billion apiece in value.

Leading Site Selection’s summary of the biggest deals in 2022 was $5.8 billion in federal, state and local incentives that's been promised to Micron Technology for its commitment to invest up to $100 billion to build the largest semiconductor fabrication facility in the United States in Clay, New York. The facility will create up to 9,000 jobs at four semiconductor fabrication plants on a 1,300-acre site just north of Syracuse and support up to 40,000 additional jobs in local supply chain and construction industries.

Rivian, an electric vehicle manufacturer that considered Fort Worth before committing to locate in Georgia, was awarded incentives valued at $1.47 billion for the creation of 7,500 jobs and $5 billion in capital expenditure.

Last year, the U.S. government moved to boost the domestic chip-making industry through the CHIPS and Science Act. Signed by President Joe Biden in August, the law includes $52 billion in incentives.

Currently, most of the world's chips are produced in Asia, but the U.S. is trying to regain leadership in the industry to reduce reliance on global supply chains and national security risks. Other countries are also competing for giant chip makers and offering incentives for new factories, and Sherman faced intense competition from Singapore and other overseas suitors in the competition for the TI and GlobiTech facilities.

Nationwide, semiconductor manufacturers are gearing up plans to produce advanced chips at new complexes in states including Idaho, Ohio and New York, as well as Texas.