Nonsmokers living in public housing properties in Butler County will start the new year breathing cleaner air while smokers will be bundled up outside.

On Jan. 1, the Butler County Housing and Redevelopment Authority will begin enforcing a rule handed down from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development banning smoking in public housing properties.

The ban will be in effect at 479 of the authority's 681 public housing units. Smoking will not be allowed in apartments, hallways, building entrances, laundry rooms and any common area. Smoking will be permitted outdoors 25 feet away from the properties.

The smoking ban will be in place at the Terrace, Cliffside, Shore Street, Wick Street and Diamond Street apartments in Butler, Maple Court Apartments in Zelienople, Graystone Manor in Slippery Rock, Parker Heights in Parker, Presidents Square in Evans City and scattered family communities in Butler.