Basement Egress Options

[Alan Mills]

I have a single family property and would like to rehab it into a duplex via adding a downstairs apartment. There are currently two stairways entering into the downstairs from outside (there are no inside connecting stairs) on opposite sides of the would-be basement apartment. Both stairways lead down into the common areas: one leading into the would-be kitchen area and the other one into the would-be living room area, which are essentially the same space. There are two rooms that could be made into bedrooms, and the location of each bedroom door would be within about 15’ or less to each set of stairs. Each of the wood-be bedrooms currently have a window, however they are not egress windows. I don’t have a problem with putting in egress windows, but here’s the conundrum: My property (built in 1900) is so close to the neighbor’s house, that there is not enough room for a proper egress space of 36” horizontal projection. So, will the two sets of stairs suffice, or what options do I have to meet code?