SOUTH BURLINGTON — The South Burlington Development Review Board is expected to rule by early January whether to permit a methadone clinic to open about 500 feet from the Vermont city’s middle school.

The Howard Center had hoped to open the clinic on Dorset Street this year and serve more than 650 clients.

A Dorset Street clinic would allow the center to close two smaller clinics.

The city zoning administrator granted a permit to renovate the space in August, ruling the space was already zoned for medical use.

But the South Burlington School Board appealed, saying the facility could pose a safety risk to students. The appeal also cited traffic congestion.

The Burlington Free Press reported that supporters say more treatment capacity is needed to blunt Vermont’s burgeoning prescription drug problem.