RIVERSIDE (AP) — A coalition of nonprofit groups is ready to buy a portion of a Southern California mountaintop so a white cross can stay put.

There has been a cross on Riverside's Mount Rubidoux since 1907. The current structure was put up in 1963, eight years after Mission Inn founder Frank Miller's family gifted the mountain as a city park.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State last year threatened a lawsuit if the city doesn't take the cross down, claiming a religious symbol on public land is unconstitutional.

The Riverside Press-Enterprise reports Tuesday that the Mission Inn Foundation, Friends of Mount Rubidoux and the Riverside Land Conservancy (www.TotallyMtRubidoux.org) will bid on the portion of the mountain where the cross sits if city leaders decide to offer it for auction.