Harold, remembering I am
not an inspector, I agree with Tom, John and Pierre.
If I was the AHJ there is no way I would stick my neck out on this.
The code is clear on this issue, no gray area, no exceptions etc.
It is not your problem to find a solution to this situation.
It is nice to have an inspector that wants to help, I can not say enough good things about inspectors that want to find a solution.
JMO, Bob