Residents ‘blindsided’ by county line change

DENVER, N.C – The line between Lincoln and Catawba counties will soon shift which means some Lincoln County residents will become Catawba County residents. Some people say they’re blindsided by the change to the county line which has been in place since 1842.

“I’ve paid Lincoln County taxes for three years. I work in Lincoln county. I want my future kids to go to school in Lincoln County,” Layne Veneri current Lincoln County Resident said

Veneri owns a home in one of 386 parcels that will now become Catawba County. Eighty six parcels from Catawba County will go to Lincoln County. Many parcels are in the Killian Crossings neighborhood.

“You got to change the mortgage on your house, you got to change the title on your car, the boat, whatever you have, all has to be changed to Catawba,” Bim Pope Lincoln County Resident said. “We’re going to go from Lincoln water to Catawba. I lived in Catawba, and the water rates are like, three times as high for drinking water.”

County officials say there was a discrepancy between the boundary line that the State Board of Elections noticed years ago.

“We compared lines and they weren’t the same. Now, why lines change over the years? It’s a million reasons. There’s no set reason of why county boundaries changed, so the state board said, you guys need to fix this,” Vanessa Leon Public information Officer for Lincoln County said.

Both counties ordered a land survey from the state back in 2022, but residents were not notified until January 2025.

“It was hard to communicate to residents, because the county didn’t know themselves, how far this was going to affect who it was going to affect,” Leon said. “Both county boards ordered a survey from the state to finalize what is the correct county line, and that’s where we’re at today.”

Lincoln and Catawba counties are hosting informational sessions to help answers questions about the change. The most concerns have been about the school system. Students will likely switch schools next year.

“I would lose my friend group and I just settled in because we moved here six months ago,” Graysen Hobis 5th grade student in Lincoln County said.

The change goes into effect on February 2nd, but some residents are still hoping for a last minute switch.

“What would make us feel better is, you know, actually having like a voice in the matter, and, you know, having our elected representatives hearing how this does affect us, and just the changes that this is, you know, going to cause for us and then trying to work through it,” Veneri said.

Lincoln County is hosting another meeting on Wednesday January 29th at James W. Warren Citizens Center in Lincolnton. Catawba County is hosting a meeting on Thursday, January 30th from 6-8pm at Sherills Ford-Terrell Branch Library and another on February 4th at Maiden High School Auditorium from 6-8pm. Some residents are weighing their legal options.