A mountainside village similar to the one in Whistler could soon pop up in West Vancouver.

A series of community open houses about the proposed Cypress Village, a new dense neighbourhood with restaurants and shops, will begin Saturday and go on into next week.

The idea is to concentrate density near the base of Cypress Mountain, along Cypress Bowl Road in the area known as the Upper Lands, while preserving much of the mountainside, said the District of West Vancouver's senior community planner David Hawkins.

"We, as a community, want to protect as much of that mountainside for environmental reasons — there are trees that are 500 years old and counting — [and] for recreational reasons," Hawkins told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff.

"One of the ways to preserve that mountainside is to concentrate future development into a village."

The exact location has yet to be determined, but Hawkins estimates about 121 hectares of land will be developed.

He said a working citizens' group that had put together a study of the Upper Lands has suggested that any development should not go above 365 metres elevation. The group also wants to prevent housing sprawl.

Hawkins says Cypress Village would be similar to Whistler Village's look and feel, but it won't be centred around tourism and recreation.

"We know West Vancouver's mountainside is a destination, and the idea is the village might be a gateway to that, but it's not only that," he said. "The intent is for it to become a complete community."

The first community open house on Cypress Village will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. PT Saturday at the West Vancouver Community Centre.

To hear the full interview with David Hawkins, listen to the audio labelled: Mixed-use mountainside village considered in West Vancouver