When I moved into my home, I was told that putting salt (yaknow, for melting ice) on my concrete would void the warranty, because it causes it to crumble & chip. So I haven't. But the other day I saw the snow removers out doing their job, and noticed they were salting our driveways, and sidewalks.

I see a problem, here. Has anyone else dealt with this? Do the builders know that the HOA snow removers are voiding our warranties for us?

They are actually putting down ice melt which is very different from salt (which looses its effectiveness below 15 degrees, causing a lot of damage when the water refreezes). However, in all honesty, you'd be lucky to not have your warranty voided no matter what you or anybody else does. Placing concrete is such a science in itself that they can find pretty much any reason to void your warranty. I managed to have my builder lift my driveway, but only after proving that it could cause tripping and was a safety hazard that I could not have possibly caused. Still, it took over a year to have the issue resolved while they tried to find a way out of it.

Most homebuilders won't even warranty concrete.

Oh it's ice melt! Ok that is good to know.

From the Community Update today:

"Please remember - In order to conserve the snow removal budget, the Association does not start removing snow until there is at least 4 inches and the storm has subsided. Also, the ice melt that is used is calcium chloride, not salt."

Um, hello. Chemistry 101. Calcium chloride is a type of salt. It's a common substitute for sodium chloride which is highly corrosive and may damage the environment. Calcium chloride is also highly corrosive but slightly less damaging to vegetation and soil.

Calcium magnesium acetate is a better choice however, it will ruin the water supply and it doesn't come cheap.

Unfortunately, there isn't one "ice melt" product that is perfect. If it doesn't ruin your plants or hardscape, it won't melt the ice either.

The best way to get rid of ice and snow is manual labor. On the road, after plowing, sand helps with traction and is clean for the environment.

While you're right, there aren't any ice melts that are good for the environment, sand isn't the best option either. It's harsh on storm drain systems causing expensive damage to the lines. As for what will melt ice and isn't harsh on plants... phosphorous is one of the best options, but again, there are draw back. While it melts the snow and keeps your plants beautiful, it's not something that we want to have excessive supplies of in our water supply. There really is no happy medium. Also, calcium chloride melts at a colder temperatures than sodium chloride which is the biggest difference when they refer to not using salt, which means much less damage to our concrete during freeze thaw cycles.
BTW, good call on the CMA... I wasn't aware of its use but after reading a little about it, it is a good option with the exception of the cost. Granted, it would require increased erosion control during its use but it is a viable option. I would be interested to see the full impacts on cities that currently use CMA.