We have a relatively mature (30-year-old, we think--though new to us!) Mexican fan palm that is growing about three feet away from our home's foundation. There is (or used to be!) a small fence and gate across the top of its root ball, and it's clear that over time the fence has been demolished and pushed about a foot up. Over the holidays, the gate stopped latching as well--there's now a horizontal gap of about two inches on a gate that once latched securely. We're not sure if this is moisture-related (our rainy season just started) or if this is also the work of the palm, pushing the gate over.

What is the norm for trees like this--do we need to worry about it creeping into the foundation of the house over time? I imagine that it will be incredibly costly to remove, so we don't really want to go down that path unless there is danger to the house (not to mention that our city has a lengthy permitting process to remove trees in non-emergency situations!)--but how can we know? I know these trees do live many years and will continue to grow, so we're a bit concerned that this may cause problems in the future. Can't seem to find info on the characteristics of this tree's root ball, etc.

Thanks!