Not a pro designer, but if I were doing that job, I would make the steps the width of the inside distance between the columns, and cut out the walk about 10 feet from the steps and do the taper from the sidewalk to the wider steps.

And cut away some of those bushes.

That front door is against code. The whole porch need redoing. Which is a blessing in disguise. Everything is out of proportion.

I honestly would love to redo the whole porch, but I don't think our HOA would let us. What code(s) are being violated?

You're not allowed to have a step down from the entry door onto the porch.

"You're not allowed to have a step down from the entry door onto the porch."

Where do you come up with this stuff? 99% of the houses in America would be in violation.

It's just a local requirement, then! Sorry. For an official egress door, we are held to the 1.5" standard regardless of door swing. Other doors get the one-step allowance, but if you tried that on anything dubbed a front door, your plans get nixed. I had to rework an inswing entrance in a tight space because of that, relocating the step 90 degrees and making a big landing pad.

Inspector claimed it was code. Didn't say which, so I assumed it was one of the many changes to stairs/level changes in the IRC.

I agreed with the inspector that the change in design was much better and safer, so I didn't try to challenge