Norwell’s selectmen will decide soon whether to appeal a judge’s ruling that the town cannot spend $1.4 million in Community Preservation Act money to build a sidewalk-pathway along Main Street, according to Town Administrator Peter Morin.

The Dec. 21 judgment said the use violates the rules for such money – which allow a combination of local and state tax money to be spent on historic preservation, recreation, open space, and affordable housing. The paved sidewalk along Route 123 did not qualify as an approved recreational use, Plymouth Superior Court Judge Raffi Yessayan said.

The judge nullified the May 2015 Town Meeting vote that approved the expenditure and said the town must pay the expenses of the 11 Norwell taxpayers who filed the legal challenge and return any preservation money that was spent.

The project has been stalled since the lawsuit was filed in June, and Morin said nosuch money has been tapped.

“Our group is very satisfied that we have saved Norwell’s [Community Preservation] funds from being hijacked by certain town officials who tried to pull a fast one on Norwell’s taxpayers through deception and clever manipulation,’’ said Don Mauch, who led the opposition.

Morin said town officials knew that using the preservation money for the 2.6-mile walkway was “a close question of law’’ but were assured by the state Department of Revenue and the town’s bond counsel and general counsel that the use was permitted because it connected recreational areas in town and would be used by walkers, runners, and bicyclists. The plan had the sidewalk extending from the Hanover line to Norwell Center.

He said selectmen were likely to discuss their options at their Jan. 6 meeting. Those options include appealing the court decision, deciding whether the project could be financed under the current tax levy, or asking the town for a Proposition 2 ½ override to pay for it.

Morin said the town also could redesign the walkway so that it was farther from the highway and more likely to pass court muster, which would make the project more expensive and require taking land by eminent domain from property owners along Main Street.

Johanna Seltz can be reached at seltzjohanna@gmail.com.