A Columbia County judge found an Augusta University professor guilty on five counts Thursday of operating his $1.5 million mansion as a special events venue and one count of doing business without a business license.
After a bench trial that lasted nearly a day and a half, Chief Magistrate Judge Jason Troiano sentenced Gursimran Walia to a combined 18 months of probation and a $6,000 fine. His supervision would end when Walia pays the fine.
Troiano also ordered Walia to limit attendance at personal parties to 25 people and refrain from hosting special events. The order excludes next year’s Masters Tournament, when Walia testified Thursday he’s already booked the Villa at Barrington LLC as a “host home” for upwards of $85,000.
After extensive renovations, Walia began renting the property through airbnb.com, vrbo.com and a website earlier this year. Soon, neighbors in the upscale Barrington subdivision off Stevens Creek Road began to complain.
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The Columbia County District Attorney’s office recently brought a 10-count accusation for land use violations against Walia, an associate dean of academic affairs and professor in the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences. The accusation charges Walia with violating Columbia County’s land use code by operating a operating a special events venue in a residential zone.
Walia pleaded not guilty to the charges and his lawyer, Jeff Peil, argued the rentals were typical residential uses and much like what many Augustans do during Masters Week.
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But after hearing testimony from more than a dozen witnesses, including Walia, Troiano found him guilty Thursday on six of the 10 counts.
“As a homeowner in Barrington, I was glad the court was able to see through the misrepresentation and manipulation to understand what we as residents clearly understand,” said Barrington homeowner Michael Graham. “The house was clearly being used for commercial purposes, and not residential.”
Clint Hartfield, who lives next door to Walia, said a June wedding at the house produced the loudest noise he’d ever heard in the neighborhood.
With the court’s ruling, “I would like to think that’s going to put an end to it,” he said.
A house perfect for parties
Testifying on his own behalf, Walia said he moved to Columbia County in January 2022 from Pooler, where he divided his time between Georgia Southern University’s Statesboro and Savannah campuses.
Searching for a home in the area, Walia said a realtor recommended the Barrington residence as perfect for parties and as a “host house,” or one at which Masters renters can host parties and other events.
Next spring, the home has been rented for Masters and will host events on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday as well as a guest speaker, Walia said. The $85,000 deal comes with the potential for a muli-year contract and the addition of time during the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, he said.
A house or a home?
Central to Assistant District Attorney Daniel Welsh’s argument Walia was running a special events venue was the contention he didn’t actually live in the house. Several witnesses testified Wednesday they rarely if ever saw him in the subdivision.
To attempt to show the court Thursday that Walia actually lived in the house, Peil presended some 500 pages of printed-out Google maps with a summary he said proved Walia lived primarily at the home, but stayed in a hotel when the villa was rented.
Welsh objected to the evidence, saying no one from Google was there to authenticate something that “with a push of a button you can change.”
Welsh questioned Walia about why he still carried a Minnesota driver’s license despite moving to Pooler then Augusta several years earlier.
Walia said the first Georgia license he applied for had been sent to his former Augusta apartment then returned. He’d been “too lazy” to apply for another and only recently was mailed a temporary permit, which he’d left in his car Thursday, Walia testified.
Not guilty on four counts
Troiano found Walia not guilty on four of the 10 counts in the accusation. The counts pointed to four dates in February, May and June when Troiano said the state lacked evidence – most of it in photos taken by neighbors – that special events were being held.
The dates dropped included a party Walia held where neighbors photographed a local doctor and theater manager going into the house, a party Walia held to celebrate a friend’s new job and an airbnb rental.
The charges kept included weddings, an overnight rental by a women’s group and a large party guests were shuttled to from Savannah Rapids Pavilion.
The accusation included no dates around the Masters Tournament, which Walia claimed was the one time Columbia County would let him host events.
Peil: A bad precedent
Walia’s defense attorney in closing arguments said the county was setting a bad precedent by cracking down on the short-term residential rentals that supplement the area economy, even if Masters Week is currently excluded.
“You would never believe” the tractor-trailers towing big-ticket items that pull into Westlake subdivision during the golf tournament. Peil called the president of the Masters Housing Bureau, Natalie Butler, to testify Wednesday about the rental housing advertising it does and the number of firms marketing short-term rentals.
Welsh: It’s just wrong
Welsh argued in closing that rules do matter. “We’re here for a very simple reason, and it is there is a law, and it is not being followed,” he said.
The rule against special event venues in residential areas is there to keep neighborhoods and families safe and able to enjoy their homes.
Welsh urged Troiano to impose a “severe monetary penalty” on Walia to dissuade him from hosting special events. “He’s thumbing his nose at the ordinance. He’s thumbing his nose at the rules that we have.”
Appeal likely
A lawsuit filed by the Barrington homeowner’s association against Walia remains pending. The suit contends Walia is in violation of neighborhood covenants that ban special event venues and businesses that attract vehicle or supply traffic.
Meanwhile, Walia is likely to appeal the magistrate court sentenced, Peil said. In the meantime, Walia understands and will comply with the judge’s ruling.
“It’s pretty safe bet there’s going to be an appeal,” Peil said.
