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The council in September gave final approval to issuing new bonds to replenish the depleted fund it uses to buy land. About 75 percent of voters approved the money borrowing measure last year.
Once the town issues the bonds, residents’ property tax bills will increase by $4 per $100,000 of assessed value on an owner-occupied home.
The new money will again give the town the ability to shop for and offer to purchase available land, something the town considers its best method for growth control because it takes land that could have been turned into commercial or residential uses off the market.
The referendum last year was the fifth time since 1997 that the town has sought voter approval before borrowing money for land purchases.
In total, the town has borrowed more than $78 million over the past 13 years to put land into public control on the island.
Since the early 1990s, Hilton Head Island has spent almost $150 million to buy a total of 1,717 acres.
Land under the town’s control represents 5 percent of all developable land within the town limits, and 19 percent of all developable land outside gated communities. Town officials have said previously that this $17 million will be used for strategic purposes to preserve open space on the island, not off-island purchases like the recent town contributions to buying the Ulmer tract near Old South.
