Protecting Colorado from Land Grabs and Rethinking Bicycle Infrastructure

On the October 23, 2025 broadcast, Kim Monson examines threats to Colorado’s rural communities and urban planning debates with Montrose County Commissioner Sean Pond discussing federal land grabs threatening Western Colorado, Professor Kurt Gerwitz making the case for bicycle infrastructure, and citizen activist Joe Whitney fighting to preserve single-family zoning in Littleton.

Federal Land Grabs Threaten Western Colorado Industries

Start listening at 31:01 – Hour 1

Sean Pond, Montrose County Commissioner, warns that Senators Bennett and Hickenlooper’s land policies are systematically destroying Colorado’s oil, gas, mining, and agricultural industries. Pond explains how the Gunnison Outdoor Resource Protection Act (GORP), which he rebrands as “Grabbing Our Rights in Public Lands,” could lock up nearly 800,000 acres of Colorado land, killing jobs that have powered the state for generations.

Pond argues that every time land access is curtailed, the effects ripple to the Front Range through higher energy and food prices. He connects this pattern to what he calls Colorado’s “legal tyranny,” where a handful of people figured out how to take over the state legally through the process outlined in “The Blueprint: How the Democrats Won Colorado.” Despite his frustrations, Pond notes he’s working with Congressman Jeff Hurd to potentially reverse course on some of these harmful policies.

“Well, every time that we crush and curtail those industries by locking up land and land access, you’re going to feel that on the front range when your food prices go up, when your energy prices go up, when the cost to heat your home goes up.”

Sean Pond, Montrose County Commissioner

The Case for Bicycle Infrastructure

Start listening at 61:23 – Hour 2

Kurt Gerwitz, professor and self-described “one-issue voter” on bicycle infrastructure, argues that bikes solve multiple societal problems simultaneously: obesity, mobility, mental health, community safety, pollution, and urban beautification. Gerwitz points to Amsterdam as proof that a society can thrive when it prioritizes bicycles over automobiles, noting their success despite harsher weather conditions than Colorado.

Kim challenges Gerwitz on who pays for bicycle infrastructure, noting that cyclists don’t pay registration fees like car owners. Gerwitz responds that bike infrastructure costs a fraction of road infrastructure and represents a better investment of taxpayer dollars. The debate touches on 15-minute cities, urban design choices that limit mobility, and whether promoting bikes constitutes taking away freedom of choice or restoring it.

“It solves mental health, community safety, pollution, urban beautification.”

Kurt Gerwitz, Professor

Littleton Citizens Fight to Preserve Single-Family Zoning

Start listening at 102:52 – Hour 2

Joe Whitney of Rooted in Littleton explains how citizens organized to stop the city from rezoning every neighborhood for multiplexes. The city had attempted to change the definition of single-family residential to include duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes, but the citizen group placed ballot initiative 3A before voters to preserve existing zoning.

Whitney describes how the city spent $20,000 in taxpayer money filing a lawsuit against the initiative, only to dismiss it after a judge refused to delay the case until after the election. Whitney calls this a clear attempt to put a cloud over the initiative rather than a genuine legal challenge. He urges voters to support 3A and pay closer attention to local elections, which he now realizes are “a very big deal.”

“In Littleton, we almost had the whole city rezone for multiplexes. They were going to change the definition of single-family residential to include duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes in every neighborhood in Littleton.”

Joe Whitney, Rooted in Littleton

Lakewood Referendum and Local Activism

Start listening at 08:28 – Hour 1

Karen Gordey, entrepreneur and Lakewood city council candidate, reports that citizen petitioners are in crunch time to gather signatures for a zoning referendum by the October 30th deadline. She notes that pro-zoning forces have launched misinformation campaigns after petitioners announced they reached the 75% signature threshold. Gordey highlights how state legislation now requires petitioners to notify the city at 75% completion or face $1,500 fines.

“People are like: wow, we actually have someone who’s gonna fight for the people, and we don’t have that in Lakewood right now.”

Karen Gordey, Lakewood City Council Candidate