Allegheny County is taking a definitive step toward healthier living environments with the Board of Health's latest move. In a unanimous decision, the board has greenlit an amendment aimed at the creation of a new Housing Advisory Committee within the Allegheny County Health Department. This regulatory switch-up comes after a preliminary thumbs-up in May and two months of public commentary, which has shaped the committee's final form, as per Allegheny County press release.

"I want to thank the Board of Health for their support a Housing Advisory Committee," County Executive Sara Innamorato said in a statement, according to the county's press release, acknowledging the concerted strategy to tug at issues of housing health and safety. The committee's formation signals not just a step, but a leap toward engaging Allegheny County residents—including both tenants and property owners—in a conversation with their health department representatives.

Echoing the functions of forebears like the Food Safety Advisory Committee and the Air Pollution Control Advisory Committee, the Housing Advisory Committee is primed to include a diverse slate of 9 to 15 members. They're to be chosen from a pool of applicants that span a gamut of professional backgrounds and personal experiences, with a particular focus on matters intersecting tenant health, public health, environmental impacts, and property management.

The significance of the Board of Health's vote is not lost on Tim Murphy, the Housing and Community Environment Program Manager. "The Housing Advisory Committee will help to strengthen our connection to the community that we serve," he told Allegheny County Press. The formation of this committee trails the recent approval of Article VI updates, a change sanctioned by the County Council and signed by Innamorato, designed to tackle the health issues festering in dwellings county-wide.

With the Board of Health's approval, the next stop for the amendments is County Council, where a final nod is awaited. Once in place, all nominees to the board will commit to no more than three-year tenures, an appointment process shepherded by the County Executive and stamped by the County Council