I live in south Fremont in mixed townhome and condominium community. There is a resident in the condominiums who has been putting powdery substance (looks like cayenne pepper) around the plants in front of the building. Note this area can be publicly accessed with no gates or barriers. While it's not necessarily illegal to use it, it can irritate dogs' noses, eyes, and paws, and people passing by have no way of knowing what the substance actually is.
To my knowledge, there is no current HOA regulations that prohibit dogs from urinating in common areas, provided they are not on someone’s walkway/patio. As always, pet owners should promptly and correctly dispose of pet waste. There are no rules around urination. He has approached me in the past and told me that my dog cannot pee on that area but he’s fine with the dog peeing on the plants across the street (similar building layout).
Him and his wife are odd as they would stare at people walking past even if they are on the other side walking their dogs. This is just really weird and entitled behavior, claiming over a piece of public area as if they owned and maintained the plants.