Hey everyone. Looking for advice or similar experiences regarding basement stairs and building codes.

The Background:

We have a 1930s four-square in Boston. In the 1940s, a permitted remodel turned part of the cellar into a garage. This relocated the basement stairs to the center of the house (adjacent to the kitchen and behind the chimney). Because of the four-square layout, this chimney which is one side of the stairs is essentially a load-bearing structure. The current stairs are steep, have a turn, and are definitely not 36 inches wide.

The Proposed Fix:

We want to improve the safety of the stairs and will eventually need to replace them. However, it is physically impossible to widen them to a code-compliant 36 inches without destroying the core structure of the house.

We had an engineer out to the house and discussed a plan:

Cut into a joist (providing alternative structural support) and Cut into an adjacent room to slightly bump out the wall.

This would give us the code-required headroom and might let us widen the stairs to about 30 inches (outside of the turn).

We'd also add proper handrails/bannisters.

The Dilemma:

Even with these major improvements, the stairs still won't meet modern code for width, and we know that touching them usually triggers a requirement to bring them 100% up to code.

If we go to the building inspector, can we present this reality? Our practical options are:

Leave as-is (grandfathered in, but unsafe).
Remove all stairs to the basement (lol).
Do these improvements to maximize safety to the absolute limit that the 1930s design allows.

Extra Context:

At some unknown point, the basement was "finished" (clearly unpermitted) and the stairs were replaced. The prior owner of 20+ years signed the P&S stating they did no unpermitted work (who knows!).

Since moving in, we’ve been proactively improving safety with permits. Redoing wiring, installing AFCI/GFCI breakers, and hardwiring smoke detectors. We’d also like to cut an egress window and reframe the old garage door to create a mudroom entrance. We are just using the basement as a finished laundry room and for storage—we have no plans for a bedroom, and the layout isn't conducive to one anyway. We are just trying to make the space as functional and safe as possible.

My Question:

Has anyone had experience trying to get an inspector to work with them on safety improvements where strict code compliance is physically impossible? Are they generally receptive to the "we're making it much safer than it is now" argument, or is bringing this up going to open a massive can of worms?

Thanks in advance!

[Boston, MA] Will inspectors work with you on safety improvements if meeting strict code is physically impossible? (1930s basement stairs)