An improvement to any real property used solely for residential purposes as a one-, two- or three-family residence shall be exempt from Town taxation to the extent of any increase in value attributable to such improvement if such improvement if such improvement is used for the purpose of facilitating and accommodating the use and accessibility of such real property by:
[Adopted 3-9-1994 by L.L. No. 2-1994 (Ch. 41, Art. V, of the 1991 Code)]
This exemption shall apply to improvements constructed prior to or subsequent to the effective date of this article.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
To qualify as physically disabled for the purpose of this article, the property owner shall submit to the Assessor of the Town wherein the residence is located a certified statement from a physician licensed to practice in the State of New York, on a form prescribed and made available by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, which states that the individual for whom the improvement is made has a permanent physical impairment which substantially limits one or more of such individual's major life activities, except that an individual who has obtained a certificate from the State Commission for the Blind stating that such individual is legally blind may submit such certificate in lieu of a physician's certified statement.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
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 New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. The application shall be filed together with the certified statement of physical disability or certificate of blindness with the appropriate Assessor on or before the taxable status date of such Town.
If the Town Assessor is satisfied that the improvement is necessary to facilitate and accommodate the use and accessibility by a resident who is physically disabled and the applicant is entitled to an exemption pursuant to this article and the provisions of Real Property Tax Law § 459, 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 taxable property, with the amount of exemption from Town taxation as determined pursuant to § 65-25 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 added by the resident who is physically disabled.