[Added 10-21-2003 by L.L. No. 34-2003, effective 10-27-2003]
A. Pursuant to the provisions of § 459 of the
Real Property Tax Law, improvements to residential real property that
serve to facilitate the use and accessibility of such property by
physically disabled residents are exempt from taxation to the extent
of any increase in value attributable to such improvements as follows,
but are liable for special ad valorem levies and special assessments:
(1) Property must be owned either by a physically disabled
person or by a person having a physically disabled member in the household.
(2) Property must be occupied by the physically disabled
owner of the property or occupied by a member of the resident owner's
household, who is physically disabled, if such member resides in the
real property. The disabled person must have a permanent physical
impairment that substantially restricts one or more of his or her
major life activities and such impairment must be certified by a qualified
physician licensed to practice in New York State. In the case of a
blind person, certification by the State Commission for the Blind
and Visually Handicapped may be obtained in lieu of certification
by a physician.
(3) The improvement to the property must be one which
facilitates the disabled person's use of and accessibility to the
property.
(4) Property must be a one-, two- or three-family residence.
Application for such exemption must be made
by the owner of the property to the Town Assessor.