Wildwood, MO – A contentious battle to save the St. Louis region’s only ski and snowboard area with a new tubing park and ancillary upgrades has gotten the go-ahead by the Wildwood, Mo. City Council.nIn a meeting on Monday, the City Council approved Hidden Valley’s plans to build a tubing park, maintenance facility and expanded parking. Construction is expected to start this summer, with completion in time for the start of the ski and snowboard season in mid-December.

Operators of Hidden Valley threatened to close the ski area in response to the city’s demand that it pay $252,000 to satisfy a green space ordinance. The local law requires developers to preserve green space for public use or pay a fee in compensation. Ski area owner Tim Boyd insisted that after several lean years, the business could not afford the fee and needed the tubing park for its additional revenues. Boyd’s threat to close the ski area drew vocal public support from hundreds of St. Louis-area skiers and snowboarders anxious keep skiing and riding available locally.

The city’s approval allows not only the tubing park, maintenance facility and expanded parking lot, but also additional ski runs and slopeside residences. Plans for new ski terrain and condos, however, will be placed on hold until the economy improves.

Plans for the maintenance building were to go before the city’s Architectural Review Board last evening. Results of that meeting were not immediately available at press time.