[Adopted 11-28-1984 by L.L. No. 6-1984]
The Town of New Paltz has determined that it
is in the best interests of the Town of New Paltz, as well as in the
best interests of the persons residing therein, that its resident
owners of real property who are physically disabled be granted special
considerations with respect to real property taxation to the extent
that it increases value attributable to improvements made to real
property for the purpose of facilitating and accommodating the use
and accessibility of such real property by those physically disabled.
Any improvement to any real property used solely
for residential purposes as a one- , two- or three-family residence
shall be exempted from taxation to the extent of any increase in value
attributable to such improvement if such improvement is used for the
purpose of facilitating and accommodating the use and accessibility
of such real property by a resident owner of the real property who
is physically disabled or a member of the resident owners' household
who is physically disabled, if such member resides in the real property.
To qualify as physically disabled for the purposes
of this article, an individual shall submit to the Assessor of the
Town of New Paltz a certified statement from a physician duly licensed
to practice in the State of New York, on a form prescribed and made
available by the State Board of Equalization and Assessment of the
State of New York, which states that the individual 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
and Visually Handicapped stating that such individual is legally blind
may submit such certificate in lieu of a physician's certified statement.
Any exemption provided for pursuant to the provisions
of this article 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 Equalization and Assessment of
the State of New York, and the applicant or applicants therefor shall
furnish such information as such State Board of Equalization and Assessment
shall from time to time require. The application shall be filed, together
with the appropriate certified statement of physical disability or
certificate of blindness, with the assessor of the Town of New Paltz
on or before the taxable status date of the Town of New Paltz.
Consistent with the provisions of Subdivision 4 of § 459 of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York, 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 section on the assessment roll with the taxable property, with the amount of the exemption as determined pursuant to § 127-4 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.
