[Adopted 1-16-1984 by L.L. No. 1-1984]
An improvement to any real property used solely for residential purposes as a one-, two- or three-family residence shall be exempt from taxation to the extent of any increase in value attributable to such improvement if the improvement is used for the purpose of facilitating and accommodating the use and accessibility of the real property by a resident owner thereof who is physically disabled, or a member of the resident owner's household who is physically disabled, if such member resides in the real property. The exemption shall apply to improvements constructed on and after January 1, 1974.
To qualify as physically disabled for the purposes of this article, an individual shall submit to the Assessor a certified statement from a physician licensed to practice in New York State, on a form prescribed and made available by the State Board of Real Property Tax Services, which states that the individual has a permanent physical impairment which substantially limits one or more of such individual's major life activities. A person who has obtained a certificate from the State Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped that he or she is legally blind may submit it in lieu of a physician's certified statement.
The exemption shall be granted only upon application by the owner or all of the owners of the real property on a form prescribed and made available by the State Board of Real Property Tax Services. The applicant shall furnish such information as that Board or the Assessor shall require. The application shall be filed together with the appropriate certified statement of physical disability or certificate of blindness with the Town Assessor on or before the taxable status date for the Town. The Assessor may require an inspection of the property and improvements before passing upon the application.
If the Assessor is satisfied that the improvement is necessary to facilitate and accommodate the use and accessibility by a resident who is physically disabled and that the applicant is entitled to an exemption pursuant to this article, the Assessor shall approve the application and enter the taxable assessed value of the parcel for which an exemption has been granted pursuant to this article on the assessment role with the amount of the exemption as determined pursuant to § 175-9 of this article in a separate column. Once granted, the exemption shall continue on the real property until the improvement ceases to be necessary to facilitate and accommodate the use and accessibility of the property by the resident who is physically disabled.
If any clause, sentence, section or part of this article or the application thereof to any person or circumstance shall be adjudged by any court to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof or the application of the remainder to other persons or circumstances, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, section or part thereof and the person and circumstance directly involved in the controversy in which the judgment shall have been rendered.
This article shall take effect immediately.