Hello Rachelle,
(I think Becca responded to you directly, but in case others on the list are interested...)
While you cannot turn off commenting altogether (though you can limit it only to project contributors), a workaround could be to make a first comment on each component with some instructions on how you prefer folks to communicate (e.g. "Please put all comments on individual files or on the main project page here URL"). However, allowing your team members to comment specifically on the "data" or "questionnaires" components (for example) may be helpful for the team. Finally: we've added your suggestion to our feature request tracking for future development and improvement.
Thanks again!
Best,
David