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6.3A Page 3 Redwood City will have the opportunity to review and comment on the SCS vision scenarios produced by ABAG for the Bay Area. The City is also part of a countywide working group which will address both the SCS and the RHNA. Sub - region and Regional Housing Needs Allocation State law allows cities to join together to form county -wide "sub- regions," essentially consortiums, to administer the State - mandated Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) at the local level. The primary benefit of forming a sub- region is to provide greater autonomy and flexibility in the development of programs and implementation strategies at the county (sub - regional) level, allowing for more localized strategies to better reflect the issues, opportunities, and future vision of the collected jurisdictions. Absent a sub - regional approach, the RHNA allocated to each county in a region, such as the nine counties in the Bay Area region as overseen by ABAG, would be divided and assigned by formula to the individual jurisdictions in each County. Establishment of a sub- region provides the opportunity for a more strategic and realistic allocation of the RHNA. The "exchange" of housing unit requirements between jurisdictions in the sub - region is encouraged. For example, jurisdictions with strategic infill development opportunities that utilize higher densities near transit are likely better able to produce sustainable development than jurisdictions without such land use and transportation advantages. RHNA exchanges are expected to be facilitated by the provision of incentives to the jurisdiction accepting a larger RHNA, such as funding for housing, housing programs and /or infrastructure. In 2006 and 2007, the City /County Association of Governments (C /CAG) and the San Mateo County Housing Department facilitated the formation and operation of a sub - region for San Mateo County that included the 20 cities and the County. The effort was known as "21 Elements." This was the first RHNA cycle that allowed for sub - regions and San Mateo County assumed a leadership role State- wide in forming a sub - region for that first cycle. The allocations from that process were used for each of San Mateo County jurisdiction's Housing Element for the 2007 -2014 cycle. The process was efficient and successful resulting in a "mutual aid" approach to addressing housing needs. A RHNA exchange was implemented between Redwood City and the Town of Woodside which eased the entitlement process for the Canada College faculty /staff housing development on the college campus. Redwood City's willingness to participate in the sub - region and for implementing an exchange in which the City accepted a higher RHNA was favorably acknowledged by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and supported their certification of Redwood City's Housing Element. SB 375 resulted in lengthening and alignment of the RHNA cycle with transportation funding cycles. Due to the new longer RHNA planning period, eight years instead of five, for the upcoming cycle from 2014 to 2022, and revised requirements that mandate planning for more infill housing, the County's regional housing needs requirements are expected to be higher than in past cycles. Participating in sub - regional efforts could provide important opportunities