Water and Light Director Tad Johnsen told the council that 8 percent of the city’s energy portfolio is made up of renewable sources. Columbia’s renewable energy ordinance was enacted in 2004 with voter approval.

“I think people want government to lead here,” First Ward Councilman Fred Schmidt said before voting in favor of the amendment.

The council passed the bill with a 5-2 vote. Mayor Bob McDavid and Fifth Ward Councilwoman Laura Nauser cast the dissenting votes, citing the potential for increased costs to Water and Light customers as the utility seeks out more renewable sources.

“There are a lot of middle-class families out there who are paying a lot for energy,” McDavid said.

As part of the ordinance, the city may not raise rates more than 3 percent above what Water and Light customers would pay if Water and Light’s energy portfolio did not include renewable sources.

Johnsen said Water and Light is currently at about 1.8 percent and said the utility would likely hit its 3 percent limit for costs when 15 percent of the utility’s energy portfolio comes from renewable sources.

In other action, the council voted to approve an amendment to the city’s building codes to require that passive systems to mitigate the buildup of radon gas be built into newly constructed homes. A passive system consists of a vent pipe tall enough to stretch from below a house slab to above its roof to allow radon, which is generated from the breakdown of uranium in the soil, to escape.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services estimates that a passive system costs between $150 and $300 when installed as part of new construction.

“I think it’s a small regulation, and I think it’s well worth the price,” McDavid said. Radon is believed to be the second-leading cause of lung cancer, after tobacco smoke.

The city’s Environment and Energy Commission recommended that the council adopt the requirement, but the city’s Building Construction Codes Commission suggested that all homes in the city be tested for the presence of radon rather than mandating mitigation systems in new houses.

Radon testing kits are offered free of charge by the Department of Health and Senior Services. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that long-term exposure to radon at a level of 4 picocuries per liter or more results in an increased risk of lung cancer. According to the latest figures from Health and Senior Services, the average home tested in Boone County had radon levels at 3.9 picocuries.

The council also voted to table a rezoning request to allow the construction of an 899-bed student apartment complex in east Columbia on Cinnamon Hill Lane until its Jan. 21 meeting. New York-based Park 7 Group proposes building the complex on a 43-acre tract near the intersection of Highway 63 and Stadium Boulevard. Neighbors living near the site have expressed opposition, saying the new complex would not be a good fit for the relatively quiet neighborhood and that it would bring increased traffic to the area.

The applicant for the rezoning requested that the matter be tabled because a representative for Park 7 was unable to travel to Columbia because of weather conditions, said Robert Hollis, an attorney for the developer.

Hollis also said there would likely be changes made to the request before it is brought to the council again.