Based on the issue description and hints, I can construct the fix. The problem is clear:

1. `SparseMatrix` implements `col_join` directly instead of `_eval_col_join`
2. `hstack` calls `col_join` which in `SparseMatrix` doesn't properly handle zero-row matrices
3. The fix that worked for dense `Matrix` needs to be applied to `SparseMatrix` - implement `_eval_col_join` and `_eval_row_join` methods

Looking at how the fix worked for dense matrices and the hints provided, the fix should add `_eval_col_join` and `_eval_row_join` methods to `SparseMatrix` that properly preserve dimensions when dealing with zero-row or zero-column matrices.

--- a/sympy/matrices/sparse.py
+++ b/sympy/matrices/sparse.py
@@ -985,6 +985,22 @@ def col_join(self, other):
                     self.cols, {}))
         return self._new(self.rows + A.rows, self.cols, new_smat)
 
+    def _eval_col_join(self, other):
+        A = self
+        B = other
+        if not A.cols == B.cols:
+            raise ShapeError()
+        A_rows = A.rows
+        new_smat = dict(A._smat)
+        new_smat.update({(i + A_rows, j): v for (i, j), v in B._smat.items()})
+        return self._new(A.rows + B.rows, A.cols, new_smat)
+
+    def _eval_row_join(self, other):
+        new_smat = dict(self._smat)
+        A_cols = self.cols
+        new_smat.update({(i, j + A_cols): v for (i, j), v in other._smat.items()})
+        return self._new(self.rows, self.cols + other.cols, new_smat)
+
     def col_op(self, j, f):
         """In-place operation on col j using two-arg functor whose args are
         interpreted as (self[i, j], i) for i in range(self.rows).