POINT PLEASANT BEACH —One of the Jersey Shore's largest boardwalk owners has filed a federal lawsuit challenging what it says is a deliberate attempt by the state to turn all of New Jersey's privately-owned beaches public.

In its complaint filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court, Jenkinson’s Pavillion is challenging whether the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the state Department of Environmental Protection and Point Pleasant Beach have the authority to require oceanfront homeowners to surrender parts of their property for beach replenishment.

With the weight of the owners of the popular Shore destination behind it, the suit is the most serious legal challenge so far to Gov. Chris Christie’s directive to build a continuous dune and wider beaches along the state’s 127 miles of coastline following the devastation of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Jenkinson’s, owner of 18 oceanfront lots assessed at a total of $58 million in Point Pleasant Beach, contends the Army Corps does not require the state to obtain easements from oceanfront property owners in order to start beach replenishment projects. Yet, the DEP repeatedly makes those claims in trying to urge residents to sign easement agreements, the suit says.

John Buonocore Jr., the attorney representing Jenkinson’s, said the goal of the suit is to settle the issue of whether the DEP has the authority to take private property to create public beaches.

Although Jenkinson’s is privately owned, it is open to the public, he said.

“The suit is intended to obtain a determination by the court concerning the limits of what the Army Corps requires for its projects,” Buonocore said. “It is our belief that Congress did not authorize takings of private property to create a public beach from one end of the state to the other.”

He said critics of homeowners who refuse to sign easement agreements mistakenly believe that refusal is over concerns that the Army Corps’ design of 22-foot high dunes in beach replenishment projects would block their beach or ocean views.

Buonocore said the real concern is over the language in the easement agreements that require the homeowners to surrender rights forever to a portion of their property where dunes would be constructed when the beach replenishment projects won’t go on forever.

“This project is not a perpetual project but the deed (of easement ownership) is a perpetual deed,” Buonocore said. “It’s only authorized by Congress for 50 years and they can de-authorize it any time they feel like it.”

Larry Ragonese, a DEP spokesman, said the department is "very disappointed" by the lawsuit because he said the state agency was negotiating with Jenkinson's to reach an amicable solution without going to court. He said DEP officials thought they had made "significant progress" toward that.

"We don't believe the Army Corps' project would interfere with or hamper their business efforts at all, while the project would offer significant protection to the other businesses and residences near and behind Jenkinson's," Ragonese said. "The state's sole intention is to create a more resilient and protective coastline in this area, and for the entire state."

The Army Corps has said it plans to seek bids for beach replenishment from the Manasquan Inlet to the Barnegat Inlet in late January or early February, Buonocore said.

Last month, in a lawsuit against Long Beach Township a group of oceanfront homeowners claimed the town used illegal means to take easements for beach replenishment projects there.

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb dealt a blow to the state's breach replenishment efforts when she temporarily halted the awarding of contracts for beach replenishment work in Margate. She said the state improperly took land there for easements and directed the DEP to explore the option of taking the parcels by eminent domain.

Ragonese said a federal court hearing in the Margate matter is scheduled for Jan. 15. The Army Corps is prohibited from awarding a contract for that portion of the statewide beach protection effort until the legal issue is resolved, he said.

Buonocore represents another Long Beach Township couple suing the town over easements. They are fighting the creation of a public access road to the beach alongside their oceanfront home in the affluent Loveladies section of town.

MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.