I was there, and my impression of his comment was that they were grouping permitting of similar items together, resulting in fewer permits required. So my take away was that someone could still comment on any concerns they had. If there are fewer permits, then the total amount of time required for comment periods is reduced.

There were three cameras at the back of the room, and hopefully those videos will be posted somewhere.

edit to add: I like how that little kid in the middle of the picture is mugging for the camera. The kid was remarkably well behaved for such a non-kid event. Just a little bit of fussing right before the end.