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<br />17 <br /> Coordinating with the City’s building department and Development Review <br />Committee to integrate information about energy efficiency and renewable <br />energy into the development process. <br />Specific actions to support these strategies are further detailed in each focus area <br />section. <br />Focus Area 1: Residential Energy <br />Residents are an important component for the success of the Energy Action Plan. The <br />residential sector represents 23 percent of total community energy use. In addition to <br />conserving energy, this sector creates an opportunity for broad community engagement <br />and support for energy goals. <br />Homeowners are the primary target for this <br />focus area. A majority of Fridley residents own <br />their home (62.5 percent19) and most owner- <br />occupied homes are single-family units (65 <br />percent20). The housing stock in Fridley is <br />aging – 8 9 percent of housing units are more <br />than 30 years old.21 These homes likely have <br />many opportunities to improve efficiency, <br />particularly as part of planned kitchen, bath, <br />and other remodeling projects. <br />Under-resourced Households <br />The residential sector also includes under-resourced households. Data show that <br />under-resourced residents are energy burdened – meaning the household spends a <br />high percentage of their income on home energy bills (see Figure 11). Fridley has a <br />high rate of people living in poverty (12.3 percent22), as compared to Anoka County (7.4 <br />percent). The number of Fridley households earning less than 50 percent of state <br />median income (SMI), the threshold for utility low-income program eligibility, is <br />estimated to be 2,750. 23 This represents 24.9 percent of all households in Fridley. The <br />highest concentration of households below the 50 percent SMI threshold is in the <br />census tract located north of Interstate 694, west of University Avenue, and south of <br />Mississippi Street (see Figure 12). Understanding the geographic distribution of under- <br />resourced households will help the Energy Action Team target their efforts. There are a <br /> <br /> <br />19 U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2012-2016 5-year Estimates. <br />20 City of Fridley, 2018. <br />21 U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2012-2016 5-year Estimates. <br />22 U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2012-2016 5-year Estimates. <br />23 Estimate based on American Community Survey 2016 Household Income in the Past 12 Months (2 016 <br />Inflation-Adjusted Dollars). <br /> Source: City of Fridley