WESTPORT — The Planning and Zoning Commission, over the last year or two, has had some very, very long meetings.

Meetings lasting four, five hours and more, sometimes spilling over into early-morning hours of the next day when reviewing controversial applications such as the Hamlet at Saugatuck, Parker Harding Plaza’s redesign and the new Long Lots Elementary School.

So, in an effort to get more business done before the clock strikes midnight, planning and zoning officials announced Thursday that commission meetings going forward will start at 6 p.m. Mondays — an hour before the current starting time of 7 o’clock.

“After many late-night meetings, the commission decided to start the meetings one hour earlier with the hope of completing our meetings earlier,” Paul Lebowitz, the P&Z chairman, said in the statement.

“Our goal is to allow for more convenient opportunities for public participation and also ensure a more focused and productive discussion between the applicants and commission members.”

The change will take effect immediately, starting at the panel’s next meeting, with the Zoom session convening at 6 p.m. Monday, June 3. The meeting also will be live-streamed via the town’s website, and broadcast on Optimum Government Access Channel 79 and Frontier Channel 6020.

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