AMANDA TAYLOR PONCY PLANNER - Renaissance Planning Group

AMANDA TAYLOR PONCY 

PLANNER 

EXPERIENCE 

6 Years 

EDUCATION 

Master of Urban and 

Environmental Planning, 

University of Virginia 

Bachelor of Arts in American 

Studies, University of Miami 

AFFILIATIONS 

American Planning Association 

Virginia Planning Association 

Congress for the New 

Urbanism 

Association of Bicycle and 

Pedestrian Professionals 

SUMMARY 

Page 1 of 5 � A. Taylor-Poncy 

Amanda Poncy serves as a project planner and project coordinator for 

Renaissance Planning Group, where she continues to pursue her interests in 

creating vibrant and healthy communities through sustainable transportation 

planning and community design. Her experience as a planning professional 

includes regional scenario planning, local government comprehensive 

planning, multimodal transportation planning, and public involvement. She is 

knowledgeable about current planning practice; the important connections 

between land use planning and environmental, infrastructure, and 

transportation planning; and the empowerment of the public in those 

processes. Amanda excels in project coordination, public involvement, and 

communication with project partners and the public. She strives to build 

community consensus and translate that into dynamic community plans. Prior to 

joining Renaissance, Amanda was a graduate associate at the Institute for 

Environmental Negotiation, where she gained experience in group facilitation 

and community decision-making processes. 

MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION PLANNING 

Broad Street Bus Rapid Transit – Virginia Department of Rail and Public 

Transportation 

The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation and the Greater 

Richmond Transit Company are conducting a detailed transit investment study 

for a seven-mile long corridor in the City of Richmond and Henrico County. 

The corridor connects high-density suburban activity centers, key 

redevelopment areas, the central business district, and historic neighborhoods. 

Our work provides the land use and economic development assessment for the 

selection of a Locally Preferred Alternative alignment, the definition of station 

areas, and conceptual design of prototypical station areas. Amanda serves as 

the project planner assisting with technical analysis, document production, and 

public outreach. 

Local Government Assistance for Urban Development Areas – Virginia 

Department of Transportation 

Renaissance is one of four teams selected by the Virginia Department of 

Transportation to assist a total of 35 high-growth localities statewide that 

have been required to adopt Urban Development Areas under recent State 

legislation. Amanda serves as a project planner helping to create 

comprehensive planning, zoning and subdivision revisions to foster smart 

growth and developing detailed area plans that demonstrate efficient 

transportation and land use planning. 

Route 522 Corridor Design Guidelines and Overlay District Ordinance – 

Virginia Department of Transportation 

Renaissance provided the land use and urban design guidelines, as well as a 

model corridor overlay ordinance for this multi-jurisdictional corridor plan for 

the Winchester-Frederick MPO in Virginia. Amanda served as the project 

planner and took a lead role in developing the land use and design 

guidelines. 

Route 419 Intergovernmental Cooperation Plan – Roanoke Valley Area 

Metropolitan Planning Organization 

Amanda serves as the project coordinator for a corridor plan spanning over 

nine miles and three jurisdictions around Roanoke, Virginia. The goals of the 

project are to improve safety, enhance multi-modal options along the 

corridor, and conduct a public process and implementation strategies that


establish cooperative inter-governmental agreements on corridor 

improvements for both the near and the long term. 

Multimodal Planning Program – Virginia Department of Transportation 

Funded by a newly established grant program, projects that fall under the 

purview of this contract include community-based studies that integrate transit, 

bicycle, pedestrian, and vehicular modes of transportation. The majority of 

these projects include consideration of land use and urban design as it relates 

to corridor and community character and encouragement of a multimodal 

environment. For the initial year of the grant program, Amanda managed 

and provided technical support for a corridor study in the Town of Orange 

(Routes 15 and 20) and a multimodal transportation plan in the Town of 

Dumfries. This included an analysis of existing multimodal infrastructure, plans, 

and policies, a policy audit and recommendations for improving development 

standards, and assisting with the community consensus building process. 

Richmond Road Multimodal Corridor Plan – Virginia Department of 

Multimodal Planning 

For this regional corridor study, funded by the Virginia Department of 

Multimodal Planning Grant Program, Amanda served as project coordinator 

for a team of planners, engineers and designers to identify land use and 

transportation improvements appropriate to the distinct “context zones” 

along the Route 250 corridor between the historic small town of Staunton and 

rural Augusta County. The project involved a series of meetings with local 

landowners and developers as well as community workshops and technical 

analysis. It culminated in an integrated program of multimodal transportation 

projects and urban design regulations to shape future economic and 

community development initiatives. 

Village Transportation Links Plan – Montgomery County, Virginia 

This project focused on creating a bicycle, pedestrian and greenways plan 

that proposed recommendations outlining viable connections within villages, 

between villages, to neighboring towns and cities, and to the regional 

greenway network. Amanda served as the project coordinator and planner 

for the development of the Master Plan, which included considerable 

coordination with the public and project stakeholders. She performed data 

collection, research, analysis and writing of deliverables. She also utilized 

ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator to create maps; prepared materials for team 

and stakeholder meetings; and assisted in making presentations. 

Multimodal Transportation District Implementation – City of Boca Raton, 

Florida 

The City of Boca Raton wants to identify the appropriate transportation 

concurrency strategy and boundaries for one or more districts within the City. 

Five multimodal transportation districts were proposed, each encompassing a 

major regional destination and surrounding residential communities. The 

subsequent multimodal quality of service analysis will focus on strategies for 

improving regional connections to the center of each district and improving 

local transit, street connectivity, walking, and biking within the districts. As 

project planner, Amanda assisted with the implementation tasks including 

revisions to the City’s Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code.

COMPREHENSIVE AND MASTER PLANNING 


Comprehensive Plan Update – Chesterfield County, Virginia 

This is the first comprehensive plan update in over 20 years for this suburban 

county of over 300,000 population. The planning process is unique in 

integrating land use, public facility, transportation and fiscal impact modeling 

in a coordinated data-driven policy framework. Amanda is serving as a 

project planner for the Update and is involved in researching and drafting 

issue papers and assisting with the public involvement process. 

Comprehensive Plan Update – Town of Cape Charles, Virginia 

This project was designed to update the land use and design components of 

the Comprehensive Plan for the Town of Cape Charles, Virginia. Amanda 

served as the Project Planner, assisting with the community consensus building 

process, creating a policy framework plan for development based on the 

input of the community and key stakeholders, and assisting with the updates to 

the Future Land Use section of the Comprehensive Plan. 

Comprehensive Plan Update – City of Winchester, Virginia 

Amanda is the project planner for an interdisciplinary team that is facilitating 

a series of community forums for a medium-sized Virginia city seeking to 

protect its historic character and enhance its economic development. Amanda 

assisted with the community consensus building process, which included public 

workshops throughout the ten City neighborhoods, that contributed to the 

development of alternative scenarios for each neighborhood as an update to 

the Comprehensive Plan. 

US Route 30 Master Plan – Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland 

County, Pennsylvania 

Amanda completed this major study for the non-profit regional Smart Growth 

Partnership of Westmoreland County. The scenario planning initiative resulted 

in a regional vision for the 40-mile stretch of the nation’s first highway, 

supported by 14 municipalities. As project coordinator and planner, Amanda 

assisted in public involvement and outreach efforts, facilitated community 

workshops, performed data collection, technical analysis, and writing of final 

deliverables, and conducted a week-long charrette that met National 

Charrette Institute standards. In addition to a vision and master plan for the 

corridor, the project included a demonstration site plan for an evolving 

suburban development area as well as an “implementation toolkit” for 

recommended strategies such as model ordinances, land banks, and urban 

revitalization programs. 

Land Use and Transportation Plan – Town of Morrisville, North Carolina 

Amanda was the project planner on a team that prepared an award-winning 

comprehensive Land Use Plan for this town in the heart of the Research 

Triangle that has experienced one of the highest rates of growth in the State. 

Specific work included participating in the public input process and preparing 

policies, implementation recommendations and development guidelines. 

East Central Florida Vision – Private Client 

Renaissance’s multi-office team is designing the open space, transportation 

and settlement pattern schematic plans for the Deseret Ranch project in 

Central Florida. Amanda has provided research assistance on historical 

precedents that will serve as a guide for future development on the ranch.

SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING 


“Building a Cleaner James River” Watershed Study – James River 

Association 

The James River is Virginia’s largest tributary to the Chesapeake Bay and 

home to the Jamestown settlement. The project required an environmental 

audit of the codes and ordinances of all localities in the James River 

watershed, and was part of the multi-jurisdictional watershed study for the 

James River Association. Amanda conducted the audit for the City of 

Charlottesville and Fluvanna County and coordinated a local government 

summit to share results and best practices. 

Fluvanna County Watershed Management Plan – Fluvanna County, 

Virginia 

Over half of Fluvanna County, Virginia is located within the Rivanna River 

watershed, a culturally and historically significant river. The project included a 

“rapid assessment” of stream conditions and produced a prioritized list of 

strategies taking into account fiscal and logistic realities. The project 

concluded with a final report and presentation to the Fluvanna County Board 

of Supervisors. Amanda was an integral member of the team that created the 

plan, assisting in the existing conditions assessment, biological and chemical 

monitoring, data collection, and strategy development as well as presenting 

the final plan to the Board of Supervisors. 

Rural Residential Development Study – James City County, Virginia 

Amanda assisted in a study to promote clustering and open space 

preservation in designated rural areas for this historic county surrounding 

Williamsburg, Virginia. Working with a steering committee and the public, the 

team created several scenarios to determine the environmental and fiscal 

implications of differing rural development patterns. Evaluation of the 

scenarios will lead to development of implementation tools, including a design 

manual and a new ordinance. Amanda assisted in the facilitation of 

community workshops and in the creation of the zoning ordinance. 

RESEARCH AND TRAINING 

“Complete Streets for Older Road Users” Research Report and Webinar – 

American Association of Retired Persons 

Amanda served as project coordinator for a research study designed to help 

transportation professionals and citizen advocates plan and design safe, 

“complete streets” for older road users. Amanda conducted research related 

to national trends, and coordinated the research, writing and writing sections 

related to roadway and intersection design. She served a facilitator for a 

roundtable of nationally recognized transportation planning and engineering 

experts to discuss proposed design recommendations, and she helped design 

a webinar delivered to AARP advocacy experts from across the country. 

Smart Transportation Toolkit – Montana Department of Transportation 

Amanda worked with a team of national and local experts to develop a 

web-based land use and transportation planning guide for Montana 

planners. During the initial phase of the project, she conducted research and 

analysis on a wide range of existing planning tools across the nation, and 

helped identify the tools most relevant to Montana. She then coordinated the 

development of a website featuring concise, readable and graphically 

appealing summaries of more than 50 tools and strategies addressing


consensus-building, land use and transportation planning, local regulations, 

funding strategies, and technical analysis. 

PRESENTATIONS 

Panel Speaker: “The History of Tomorrow: Planning for the Future in a 

Historic Resort Town,” Virginia Planning Association Conference, Wintergreen, 

Virginia, 2007 

AWARDS 

2009 North Carolina Marvin Collins Planning Award, Outstanding Planning 

Award, Comprehensive Planning (Small Community): Town of Morrisville 

2009 Land Use and Transportation Plans Update

AMANDA TAYLOR PONCY PLANNER - Renaissance Planning Group

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