Full opinion text
BUA, District Judge. This important and celebrated zoning discrimination case was filed in 1972. The plaintiffs and defendants have strenuously contested the issues over a number of years. They have obtained two opinions from the court of appeals and one from the United States Supreme Court. After the remand of the case to this court last year, the original parties negotiated a settlement agreement and asked this court to enter a consent decree. The Village of Mount Prospect and other parties objected to the proposed decree, and this court allowed them to intervene. Three days of hearings were held last September. After fully developing and exploring all of the issues, the court now enters the consent decree. I. FACTS. Plaintiff Metropolitan Housing Development Corporation (MHDC) contracted to purchase a parcel of land located in the defendant Village of Arlington Heights (the St. Viator property). MHDC, a non-profit corporation, planned to construct a racially integrated moderate and low-income housing projéct to be known as Lincoln Green. The contract was contingent upon MHDC’s ability to obtain proper zoning from the Village and financial assistance from the federal government. MHDC filed a petition with the Village for rezoning of the St. Viator site from a single-family to a multiple-family classification. Following a series of public meetings, the Arlington Heights Board of Trustees voted to deny the petition for rezoning. MHDC, together with three black individuals seeking low cost housing in Arlington Heights, then filed suit against the Village in the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, requesting injunctive and declaratory relief. The plaintiffs claimed that the Village’s refusal to rezone was racially discriminatory, violating their rights under, inter alia, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq. The district court held that the Village’s action did not violate the Equal Protection Clause because it was motivated by a desire to protect local property values and the integrity of the Village’s zoning plan, rather than by racial discrimination or opposition to low-income housing. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. v. Village of Arlington Heights, 373 F.Supp. 208, 211 (N.D.Ill.1974). The court observed that no section of the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq., seemed applicable to the facts of the case. 373 F.Supp. at 209. Cf. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. v. Village of Arlington Heights, 558 F.2d 1283, 1286 n. 2 (7th Cir. 1977) (district court did not rule on Fair Housing Act claim either because plaintiffs did not pursue it or because they did not consider it different from their constitutional claim). The Seventh Circuit approved the district court’s finding that there was no discriminatory purpose underlying the Village’s refusal to rezone. Nevertheless, it reversed that court’s decision on the ground that the “ultimate effect” of the denial of rezoning was unconstitutional because it would disproportionately disadvantage blacks. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. v. Village of Arlington Heights, 517 F.2d 409, 413-15 (7th Cir. 1975). The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals. It held that a showing of discriminatory intent was necessary to establish a violation of the Equal Protection Clause. Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp., 429 U.S. 252, 265, 97 S.Ct. 555, 50 L.Ed.2d 450 (1977). Since the court of appeals had affirmed the district court’s determination that there was no discriminatory motive underlying the Village’s refusal to rezone, the Supreme Court held that the plaintiffs had suffered no deprivation of their constitutional rights. 429 U.S. at 268— 71, 97 S.Ct. at 565-566. The Court then remanded the case to the Seventh Circuit for a determination of whether the Village’s refusal to rezone the land violated the Fair Housing Act. 429 U.S. at 271, 97 S.Ct. at 565-566. On remand, the court of appeals held that the Village of Arlington Heights has a statutory obligation under the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq., to refrain from the perpetuation of zoning policies that effectively foreclosed construction of low-cost housing within its boundaries. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. v. Village of Arlington Heights, 558 F.2d 1283 (7th Cir. 1977). In analyzing the case, the Seventh Circuit ruled that the presence or absence of an actual discriminatory effect caused by the Village’s zoning decision would be decisive. The case was therefore remanded to this court for a determination of whether there was land in Arlington Heights, other than the St. Viator site, which was properly zoned and suitable for federally subsidized low-cost housing. If the Village was unable to identify any such land within its boundaries, its refusal to rezone the St. Viator site would be held to violate the Fair Housing Act because that refusal would have precluded MHDC from constructing low-cost housing in Arlington Heights. Only then would plaintiffs be entitled to the relief they sought, the rezoning of the St. Viator property to permit construction of multi-family housing. 558 F.2d at 1295. The Village of Arlington Heights sought certiorari in the Supreme Court. When it was denied, 434 U.S. 1025, 98 S.Ct. 752, 54 L.Ed.2d 772 (1978), the case was remanded to this court for further proceedings consistent with the order of the court of appeals. This court called the matter for a status report in March, 1978, and was advised by the parties that negotiations had commenced. They stated that the case would be resolved by the entry of a consent decree, obviating the need for a trial of the remanded issues. As a result of the ensuing negotiations, a tentative agreement was reached which provided for construction of a modified development on an alternate site. This alternate site currently is not in Arlington Heights. Rather, it is located in an unincorporated area of Cook County, between Arlington Heights and the Village of Mount Prospect. It contains approximately 26 acres, bounded on the north by Lawrence Lane in Mount Prospect and Prairie Park, on the east by a vacant parcel of land lying north and west of St. Cecilia Catholic Church, on the south by Golf Road, and on the west by Belmont Avenue, extended from its present location adjacent to the western boundary of Prairie Park to Golf Road. The subject property is vacant. Part of it is classified as C-2 Commercial under the Cook County Zoning Ordinance. The remainder is classified for R-5 Single Family Residence use. No part of the subject property is currently zoned for the construction of multiple family residences. Under the terms of the consent decree, Arlington Heights would annex the subject property and rezone it to conform with MHDC’s planned use. Fourteen acres of the property would be developed for commercial use by an independent developer. The proposed development on the remaining twelve acres would be an updated version of the original Lincoln Green project. The financing would be different, the units designed for the elderly would be in a separate building, and the low and moderate-income family townhouses segment would involve a less intensive use of land than that originally proposed. The parties made a further report on June 22, 1978, at which time the court continued the matter to June 30, 1978, for entry of the consent decree. On June 30, the Village of Mount Prospect moved to intervene as a defendant in order to object to entry of the proposed decree. In its petition, Mount Prospect sought, in the alternative, permissive intervention and intervention as of right. Mount Prospect argued that the court had no authority to enter the decree. It also claimed that entry of the decree would be unjust and inequitable, due to its potential effect on the citizens of Mount Prospect. While the court was considering Mount Prospect’s petition, it delayed entry of the consent decree. On July 5, 1978, the Board of Trustees of Arlington Heights had an open meeting to receive public comment on the decree, which it had previously developed in closed sessions. After listening to the comments, the Board voted to approve the decree. The normal procedures for preparing and approving an annexation and/or rezoning proposal were not followed. On August 21, 1978, this court, by unreported order, granted Mount Prospect permissive intervention, without deciding whether it was entitled to intervene as of right. Mount Prospect is before the court in its corporate capacity, as a representative of its residents. Additional parties applied to the court for permission to intervene. These parties represented landowners in the vicinity of the subject property. On August 24, 1978, the court allowed Forest View Civic Association, Anthony Flaco, Joanne Flaco, Joseph Cipriano, Pamela Cipriano, Henry Lassen, and Constance Lassen, all of whom are either property owners or representatives of owners of land north and west of the alternate site, to intervene as defendants. On September 18, 1978, the Surrey Ridge Homeowners Association, John Róese, Gerald Hoeff, Frank Schnobel, and the Heritage Park Community Association, Inc., additional owners and representatives of owners of neighboring land, were also given leave to intervene. All of these defendantintervenors presented claims and arguments that were similar to those presented by Mount Prospect. The court scheduled this case for a hearing on the objections to the consent decree. After three days of hearings, on September 25, 27 and 29, the court took this matter under advisement. The parties were allowed to file proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. In December, they were also requested to file additional briefs in response to a question of law presented by the court. Thus, this matter has been given lengthy and detailed consideration. After evaluating the evidence and the legal arguments presented by all parties, the court issues this opinion as its finding of fact and conclusions of law, pursuant to Rule 52, Fed.R. Civ.P. Ci. In Re General Motors Corp. Engine Interchange Litigation, 594 F.2d 1106 (7th Cir. 1979) (vacating district court approval of class action settlement). II. INTRODUCTION. The legal arguments of the original parties and those of the intervenors reflect very different approaches to this case. The original parties emphasize that two strong federal policies mandate the approval of the consent decree: the congressional policy favoring open housing and the judicial policy favoring the compromise settlement of cases. The intervenors emphasize several procedural irregularities in the actions taken by Arlington Heights which assertedly invalidate the decree. They question the Village’s authority to consent to the decree and the court’s authority to approve it. In order for the court to decide this case in favor of the original parties, it must override some of the procedural rights of the intervenors. On the other hand, if this court were to decide for the intervenors, it would be acting contrary to those decisions of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals that have emphasized the federal policies. In this opinion, the court will review the federal policies favoring entry of the decree and the procedural objections raised by the intervenors. The court will also discuss the intervenors’ substantive objections to the proposed annexation and rezoning. These latter objections, unlike the procedural objections, do not greatly trouble the court, for they were shown to be meritless during the hearing held last fall. A. Policies Favoring Settlement. 1. The congressional policy favoring open housing. In its decision on remand in this case, 558 F.2d 1283, 1289 (7th Cir. 1977), cert, denied, 434 U.S. 1025, 98 S.Ct. 752, 54 L.Ed.2d 772 (1978), the Seventh Circuit emphasized the strong congressional policy favoring racially integrated open housing. The purpose of Congress in enacting the Fair Housing Act was “to provide, within constitutional limitations, for fair housing throughout the United States.” 42 U.S.C. § 3601. The Second Circuit has observed that the Act was intended to promote “open, integrated residential housing patterns and to prevent the increase of segregation, in ghettos, of racial groups whose lack of opportunities the Act was designed to combat.” Otero v. New York City Housing Authority, 484 F.2d 1122, 1134 (2d Cir. 1973). Other courts have responded to the congressional statement of policy by holding that the Act must be interpreted broadly. 558 F.2d at 1289. The Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq., together with the Housing and Community Development Act, 42 U.S.C. § 5301 et seq., have established a strong and unquestionable congressional intent to use every available means to limit public and private conduct which prevents racial minorities from escaping urban ghettoes and obtaining housing in the suburbs. See Arlington Heights, 558 F.2d at 1289; Otero v. New York City Housing Authority, 484 F.2d 1122, 1133-34 (2d Cir. 1973); Developments in the Law—Zoning, 91 Harv.L.Rev. 1427, 1682-83 (1978); Comment, Applying the Title VII Prima Facie Case to Title VIII Litigation, 11 Harv.C.R.-C.L. L.Rev. 128, 144 (1976). Since Arlington Heights and the entire northwest suburban area remain predominantly white, construction of the project envisioned by the consent decree would be a significant step toward integrating the area and would promote the congressionally mandated policies. See Arlington Heights, 558 F.2d at 1294. An additional policy of the fair housing laws would be promoted by the entry of the consent decree. The provisions for administrative conciliation of fair housing disputes. See Williamsburg Fair Housing Committee v. New York City Housing Authority, 450 F.Supp. 602, 605-08 (S.D.N.Y. 1978); Chandler, Fair Housing Laws: A Critique, 24 Hastings L.J. 159, 184-92 (1973). Settlement of a housing dispute by community agreement rather than by court-originated imposition of an injunctive decree upon the parties is particularly appropriate where the housing patterns of an entire community are involved. . . . The very nature of [the goal of open housing] makes its achievement improbable if not impossible through the imposition upon the community of solutions not of the community’s own design and thus quite likely lacking the community’s support and confidence. The Court cannot force persons to live in the community; the continued or increased presence of any element of the ethnic makeup of a neighborhood, and thus the success of the Act’s goal of supporting integration in the community, will depend largely on the willingness of individuals and groups to live there. . . . Thus, because the resolution of disputes by community agreement engenders the crucial community support which such solutions must have if they are to succeed, a decree developed by the community is greatly preferable to a ruling of the Court, even if such ruling be punctiliously correct on both the law and the facts. Furthermore, allowing the community groups to work out their own solution accomplishes “one of the central purposes of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 [which is] . to achieve harmony between the races in urban settings.” Otero v. New York City Housing Authority, 72 Civ. 1733, at 4 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 22, 1974) (approving consent decree negotiated following remand). Williamsburg Fair Housing Committee v. New York City Housing Authority, 450 F.Supp. 602, 606 (S.D.N.Y.1978). 2. The federal judicial policy favoring the settlement of litigation. In addition to the special policies applicable in fair housing cases, there is a general federal judicial policy favoring the voluntary settlement of litigation. This policy was recently recognized by the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Airline Stewards Local 550 v. American Airlines, 573 F.2d 960, 963 (7th Cir.), cert, denied, - U.S. -, 99 S.Ct. 214, 58 L.Ed.2d 190 (1978). See also, e. g., Patterson v. Stovall, 528 F.2d 108, 112 (7th Cir. 1976); Pearson v. Ecological Science Corp., 522 F.2d 171, 176 (5th Cir. 1975), cert, denied, 425 U.S. 912, 96 S.Ct. 1508, 47 L.Ed.2d 762 (1972); Florida Trailer and Equipment Co. v. Deal, 284 F.2d 567, 571 (5th Cir. 1960). In Airline Stewards, the Seventh Circuit carefully set out the considerations that should govern a district court’s decision to approve or reject a proposed consent decree. Accordingly, the court of appeals’ opinion there has been given careful consideration by this court in its decision of this case. Airline Stewards was an employment discrimination case brought pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. The plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment was granted by the district court. While the case was on appeal, the parties settled the case and submitted a proposed consent decree. The decree was entered by the district judge over the objections of an intervening union which claimed that its members’ settled contractual seniority rights were being abrogated by the proposed decree. In its opinion, the court of appeals stated that it was proper for the district court to allow the intervenor to enter the case and object to the provisions of the consent decree. 573 F.2d at 962. See EEOC v. AT&T, 556 F.2d 167, 173 (3d Cir. 1977), cert, denied, 438 U.S. 915, 98 S.Ct. 3145, 57 L.Ed.2d 1161 (1978); United States v. Ketchikan Pulp Co., 430 F.Supp. 83 (D.Alas. 1977). The Seventh Circuit emphasized, however, that the intervenor’s arguments were not to be judged solely on their own merits, as determined by applicable Title VII law; rather, the congressional and judicial policies favoring settlement were to be given special weight. While we believe that in a controverted Title VII case the issues raised by the intervenor would be both difficult and interesting, we must recognize that we are here reviewing the propriety of a settlement and not a judgment rendered after a trial. We believe that the issues raised by the intervenor should not be decided on the basis of Title VII law, but rather must be decided on the basis of legal principles regulating judicial review of settlement agreements. Relying on those principles, we conclude that the district court correctly declined to decide those issues relevant to the merits of the plaintiffs’ claims prior to deciding merely whether the settlement was appropriate. [I]t is generally recognized that settlements are entered into because of “the very uncertainties of outcome in litigation, as well as the avoidance of wasteful litigation and expense . . .” Based on these considerations, this court has held that a district court in reviewing a settlement agreement “should not attempt to decide the merits of the controversy . . . [because] [any] virtue which may reside in a compromise is based upon doing away with the effect of such a decision.” 573 F.2d at 963 (citations omitted). See Patterson v. Stovall, 528 F.2d 108, 112-114 (7th Cir. 1976); United States v. City of Jackson, 519 F.2d 1147, 1151-52 (5th Cir. 1975); Florida Trailer & Equipment Co. v. Deal, 284 F.2d 567, 571 (5th Cir. 1960); Williamsburg Fair Housing Committee v. New York City Housing Authority, 450 F.Supp. 602, 606 (S.D.N.Y.1978); United States v. American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers, 442 F.Supp. 1072, 1083-84 (N.D.Ill.1977), appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, 590 F.2d 242 (7th Cir. 1978). Thus, in reviewing the intervenors’ objections to the proposed settlement between MHDC and Arlington Heights, this court must follow the Seventh Circuit’s ruling in Airline Stewards that the strong policies favoring the settlement of discrimination eases overrides any but the most powerful objections to the propriety of the consent decree. See also EEOC v. AT&T, 556 F.2d 167 (3d Cir. 1977), cert, denied, 438 U.S. 915, 98 S.Ct. 3145, 57 L.Ed.2d 1161 (1978)., B. The Intervenors’ Objections. Against these two strong federal policies, the intervenors have advanced several legal arguments. These arguments are difficult to separate for purposes of analysis, for they are closely related and many have not been directly addressed by other courts. The court will address the arguments in three general categories: attacks on the power of this court to enter the decree, objections to the procedures followed, and objections to the proposed zoning for the alternate site. 1. The power of the court to enter the decree. The attacks on the court’s power to enter the decree are based on several different grounds. First, the intervenors claim that the court of appeals’ mandate in its remand opinion precludes this court from entering the decree. Next, they argue that a federal court would never have the power to enter a consent decree granting the plaintiffs the relief included here. Also, the intervenors argue that even if the relief included here could be granted under some circumstances, it cannot be granted to these plaintiffs because it is beyond the scope of their complaint. These latter two objections are derived from the ambiguous nature of consent decrees. “Consent decrees and orders have attributes both of contracts and of judicial decrees . . . United States v. ITT Continental Baking Co., 420 U.S. 223, 236 n.10, 95 S.Ct. 926, 934, 43 L.Ed.2d 148 (1975); Regalado v. Johnson, 79 F.R.D. 447, 450 (N.D.Ill.1978). Arguing that a consent decree is like any other judicial decree, the intervenors suggest that the court cannot approve a consent decree and order the relief involved unless all normal requirements for the court’s invocation of its equitable and legal powers are met. Specifically, they argue that the court’s action must be based on a proven or admitted statutory violation and must stem from a complaint whose allegations support the relief granted. The intervenors note that the consent decree includes a provision in which Arlington Heights specifically denies any statutory violations. No such violations have yet been proven. Of course, the Supreme Court’s opinion established that there was no constitutional violation. 429 U.S. 252, 270-71, 97 S.Ct. 555, 50 L.Ed.2d 450 (1977). The intervenors urge the court to conclude that this failure to demonstrate any liability prevents the court from entering the decree. In addition, the intervenors raise two other narrow objections to the power of a federal court to enter this type of decree. First, they claim that a federal court can never enter a consent decree that abridges the preexisting rights of third parties. Second, they argue that a federal court can never order a municipality to annex and rezone land. The intervenors’ other main objection to the power of the court to enter the decree is based on the fact that the relief envisioned in the proposed consent decree, the building of a modified Lincoln Green project at a new site, is nowhere mentioned in the complaint. The plaintiffs’ complaint only deals with alleged statutory violations that occurred at the original St. Viator property. MHDC never requested the Village to annex or rezone the alternate site. Accordingly, the intervenors claim that the court cannot order the entry of the consent decree, since even if the court has the power to grant some relief, it cannot grant relief that is not justified by the complaint. 2. The procedural objections. The intervenors raise two major procedural objections. The course of conduct followed by the Village in approving the consent decree, according to the intervenors, deprived them of their rights to procedural due process because all regular procedures were not followed. They urge the court to refrain from entering the decree. The intervenors also claim that Arlington Heights is, under Illinois law, without power to assent to the consent decree. Since Arlington Heights is bound to comply with Illinois law, and since that law requires the Village to follow its normal procedures, see note 6 supra, any official act contrary to normal procedures, such as the approval of the consent decree, is alleged to be ultra vires and void. 3. The zoning objections. The intervenors’ final grounds for rejecting the decree go to the merits of the proposed zoning that it includes. This zoning, the intervenors claim, would violate their rights and is clearly inequitable, if not unconstitutional. Specifically, they question the planned project’s consistency with surrounding uses and claim that it would create new traffic, sewage, and drainage problems and would depreciate neighboring property values. III. THE POWER OF THE COURT TO ENTER THE DECREE. A. The Court of Appeals Mandate Does Not Preclude the Entry of the Consent Decree. Before discussing the intervenors’ other arguments, the court must resolve their preliminary contention that the mandate of the Seventh Circuit in its remand opinion, see 558 F.2d 1283 (7th Cir. 1977), prevents this court from entering the consent decree. In its decision, the court of appeals explicitly described “the procedure which the district court should follow on remand.” 558 F.2d at 1294. This procedure involved three steps: determining the availability of federal funding for the project, determining whether the project would be racially integrated, and establishing whether any other suitable locations for federally subsidized housing exist in Arlington Heights. 558 F.2d at 1294-95. It concluded by remanding the case “for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.” 558 F.2d at 1295. Since the court of appeals directed this court to follow this detailed procedure, the intervenors argue that the court must follow it and cannot deviate from it. In support of their argument, the intervenors quote such judicial language as the following: Whatever was before the court, and is disposed of, is considered as finally settled. The inferior court is bound by the decree as the law of the case; and must carry it into execution, according to the mandate. They cannot vary it, or examine it for any other purpose than execution; nor give any other or further relief Ex Parte Sibbald, 37 U.S. (12 Pet.) 488, 492, 9 L.Ed. 1167 (1838). See Cascade Natural Gas Corp. v. El Paso Natural Gas Co., 386 U.S. 129, 135, 87 S.Ct. 932, 17 L.Ed.2d 814 (1967); Ex Parte Union Steamboat Co., 178 U.S. 317, 318-19, 20 S.Ct. 904, 44 L.Ed. 1084 (1900); Bailey v. Henslee, 309 F.2d 840, 843 (8th Cir. 1962) (en banc); Mays v. Burgess, 80 U.S.App.D.C. 236, 237, 152 F.2d 123, 124 (1945); Monday v. United States, 342 F.Supp. 1271, 1273 (E.D.Wis.1972); 6A Moore’s Federal Practice ¶ 59.16, at 59-294 (2d ed.). The intervenors misstate the law. While it is true that an inferior court cannot question or vary the mandate of a superior court on issues actually presented to the higher court, it is free to allow additional pleadings and conduct additional proceedings in response to changed circumstances. “While a mandate is controlling as to matters within its compass, on the remand a lower court is free as to other issues.” Quern v. Jordan, - U.S. -, - n.18, 99 S.Ct. 1139, 1148 n.18, 59 L.Ed.2d 358 (1979) (quoting Sprague v. Ticonic National Bank, 307 U.S. 161, 168, 59 S.Ct. 777, 83 L.Ed. 1184 [1939]). “[T]he mandate would not prevent the District Court in the exercise of a sound discretion from allowing plaintiff, were adequate showing made, to file additional pleadings, vary or expand the issues and take other proceedings . . .” Rogers v. Hill, 289 U.S. 582, 587-88, 53 S.Ct. 731, 734, 77 L.Ed. 1385 (1933). Accord, R.E.B., Inc. v. Ralston Purina Co., 525 F.2d 749, 751 (10th Cir. 1975); Nucor Corp. v. Tennessee Forging Steel Service, Inc., 513 F.2d 151, 153 (8th Cir. 1975); Paull v. Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., 313 F.2d 612, 617-18 (8th Cir. 1963); Western Urn Manufacturing Co. v. American Pipe and Steel Corp., 113 U.S.App.D.C. 378, 383-84, 308 F.2d 333, 338-39 (1962); Emmanuel v. Omaha Carpenters District Council, 422 F.Supp. 204, 208-09 (D.Neb.1976), aff’d 560 F.2d 382 (8th Cir. 1977); 3 Moore’s Federal Practice ¶ 15.11, at 15-150 to 15-151. In interpreting the mandate of the court of appeals, this court must carefully scrutinize the accompanying opinion. See Rogers v. Hill, 289 U.S. at 587-88, 53 S. Ct. 731. Though only the court of appeals can authoritatively construe its own mandate, see Bailey v. Henslee, 309 F.2d at 843, this court, in interpreting the Seventh Circuit’s opinion, does not view it as precluding any proceedings this court deems appropriate in response to changed circumstances. This is in accord with the general rule that a district court is free to order new proceedings at its own discretion unless specifically precluded by the court of appeals. See Quern v. Jordan, - U.S. -, -n.18, 99 S.Ct. 1139, 59 L.Ed.2d 358 (1979); 3 Moore’s Federal Practice ¶ 15.11, at 15-150 to 15-151. Cf. Cascade Natural Gas Corp. v. El Paso National Gas Co., 386 U.S. 129, 87 S.Ct. 932, 17 L.Ed.2d 814 (1967) (where Supreme Court specifically ordered divestiture as remedy, parties had no authority to change remedy by settlement). Any settlement of this litigation which, through conciliation, provides relief equivalent to that envisioned by the court of appeals is thus clearly consistent with the decision of that court. B. The Relief Ordered Can Be Granted By a Federal Court in an Appropriate Case. 1. A consent decree can be entered without a finding of either a constitutional or a statutory violation. The intervenors argue that a court cannot enter a consent decree and use its equitable powers to order relief unless it has found that the defendant has committed a constitutional or statutory violation or the defendant has admitted such a violation. Otherwise, the intervenors say, the court would be allowing the parties, through collusion, to use the court’s equitable powers to take actions they could not normally take. In effect, the federal court’s jurisdiction would be expanded through consent. Since no finding of liability has been made by this court and the defendants deny liability in the proposed consent decree, the intervenors claim that the decree cannot be entered. In support of their argument, the intervenors cite the Supreme Court’s decision in Hills v. Gautreaux, 425 U.S. 284, 96 S.Ct. 1538, 47 L.Ed.2d 792 (1976) and Milliken v. Bradley, 418 U.S. 717, 94 S.Ct. 3112, 41 L.Ed.2d 1069 (1974). In those decisions the Court emphasized that federal courts could not order interdistrict desegregation remedies absent proof of interdistrict constitutional violations. This result, the Court said, was “based on fundamental limitations on the remedial powers of the federal courts to restructure the operation of local governmental entities. That power is not plenary. It ‘may be exercised only on the basis of a constitutional violation.’ ” Hills, 425 U.S. at 293, 96 S.Ct. at 1544 (quoting Milliken, 418 U.S. at 738, 94 S.Ct. 3112 [quoting Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, 402 U.S. 1, 16, 91 S.Ct. 1267, 28 L.Ed.2d 554 (1971)]). The Hills Court interpreted the Milliken decision in the following manner: The District Court’s desegregation order in Milliken was held to be an impermissible remedy not because it envisioned relief against a wrongdoer extending beyond the city in which the violation occurred but because it contemplated a judicial decree restructuring the operation of local governmental entities that were not implicated in any constitutional violation. [425 U.S. at 296, 96 S.Ct. 1538.] [T]he District Court’s proposed remedy in Milliken was impermissible because of the limits on the federal judicial power to interfere with the operation of state political entities that were not implicated in unconstitutional conduct. 425 U.S. at 298, 96 S.Ct. at 1545-1547. While this language states the general rules governing the equitable powers of the federal court, the intervenors err in assuming that those rules operate in the same way when the court is asked to approve a consent decree. The Supreme Court’s decision in Swift & Co. v. United States, 276 U.S. 311, 48 S.Ct. 311, 72 L.Ed. 587 (1928) still states the applicable law. It is contended that the consent decree was without jurisdiction because it was entered without the support of facts. The argument is that jurisdiction under the Anti-Trust Acts cannot be conferred by consent; that jurisdiction can exist only if the transactions complained of are in fact violations of the Act; that merely to allege facts showing violation of the antitrust laws is not sufficient; that the facts must also be established according to the regular course of chancery procedure; that this requires either admission or proof; and that, here, there was no admission but, on the contrary, a denial of the allegations of the bill, and a recital in the decree that the defendants maintain the truth of their answers, assert their innocence, and consent to the entry of the decree without any finding of fact, only upon condition that their consent shall not constitute or be considered an admission. The argument ignores both the nature of the injunctions and the legal implications of a consent decree. The allegations of the bill not specifically denied may have afforded ample basis for a decree ... If the court erred in finding in these allegations a basis for . . an injunction, its error was of a character ordinarily remediable on appeal. Such an error is waived by the consent to the decree. Clearly it does not go to the power of the court to adjudicate between the parties. 276 U.S. at 327, 48 S.Ct. at 315 (citations omitted). There is no indication that Milliken or Hills were meant in any way to limit the continuing validity of Swift. As then District Judge Higginbotham said in EEOC v. AT&T, 419 F.Supp. 1022, 1038 n.16 (E.D.Pa. 1976), aff’d, 556 F.2d 167 (3d Cir. 1977), cert, denied, 438 U.S. 915, 98 S.Ct. 3145, 57 L.Ed.2d 1161 (1978): [A] disclaimer of liability is, of course, a standard feature in consent decrees. The defendant denies that it has done anything wrong, then promises not to do it again. Nevertheless, it is clear that the failure of a party to a consent decree to admit liability for alleged misconduct does not affect the validity of the consent decree itself. Swift & Co. v. United States, 276 U.S. 311, 327, 48 S.Ct. 311, 72 L.Ed. 587 (1928). The instant defendants candidly admit that the absence of proof of actual discrimination and their denial of such discrimination are immaterial. They rightly point out that very few consent decrees would be negotiated if an admission of liability by the defendants was a sine qua non. Cf., e. g., Airline Stewards, 573 F.2d at 963-64 (trial judge should not decide the merits of the case when approving a settlement); Patterson v. Stovall, 528 F.2d 108, 114 (7th Cir. 1976) (same). Thus, the court concludes that it can enter a consent decree absent proof or admission of a constitutional or statutory violation. 2. A consent decree can abridge the preexisting rights of third parties. It is the intervenors’ contention that a court cannot enter a consent decree that cuts off the preexisting rights of third parties. They claim that their preexisting zoning rights, based on the present zoning of the alternate site, would be violated if the court entered the proposed decree. That argument was rejected by the Seventh Circuit in Airline Stewards Local 550 v. American Airlines, 573 F.2d 960 (7th Cir.) (third parties claimed their seniority rights would be abridged by consent decree), cert. denied, - U.S. -, 99 S.Ct. 214, 58 L.Ed.2d 190. (1978). The court of appeals found that adoption of such a rule would most seriously discourage efforts to settle Title VII cases, and we refuse to sanction such a result. The only argument that intervenor offers ... is that the district court had a duty to consider the interests of the incumbent employees before approving the settlement. We have no quarrel with that general proposition, but it certainly does not lead to the conclusion that the court had a duty to litigate the merits of the plaintiffs’ claims prior to approving the settlement. ... At most the court was required to permit APFA to intervene and offer it an opportunity to present to the court its members’ interests in the proposed remedy. This intervenor had an opportunity to do. The district court was required to do no more. See EEOC v. American Tel. & Tel. Co., 556 F.2d 167, 173 (3d Cir. 1977) (interests of a third party in a consent decree limited to appropriateness of the remedy). 573 F.2d at 963-64 (citations omitted). See also EEOC v. AT&T, 419 F.Supp. 1022, 1039-40 (E.D.Pa.1976) (consent decree can cut off third party seniority rights), aff’d, 556 F.2d 167 (3d Cir. 1977), cert, denied, 438 U.S. 915, 98 S.Ct. 3145, 57 L.Ed.2d 1161 (1978). This court is aware that other courts have ruled to the contrary. See Southbridge Plastics Division v. Local 759, United Rubber Workers, 565 F.2d 913 (5th Cir. 1978); Carson v. American Brands, Inc., 446 F.Supp. 780, 788 (E.D.Va.1977). Airline Stewards establishes, however, that the law of this circuit is that a court can exercise its full equitable powers, even as against third parties, when a consent decree is filed by the original parties. Third parties whose rights may be abridged are entitled to be heard, and their views are entitled to careful consideration. They do not, however, have an absolute right to block the entry of the consent decree. 3. Annexation and rezoning can be ordered by a federal court. The intervenors have argued in their briefs that the court could never order the annexation and rezoning of land, even if the plaintiffs had proven a statutory violation at trial. This argument is based on the proposition that annexation and rezoning are legislative acts that cannot be undertaken by a court. Citing several cases, the intervenors claim that any such action would be a judicial usurpation of legislative power. See, e. g., Joseph Skillken & Co. v. City of Toledo, 528 F.2d 867, 878 (6th Cir. 1975), vacated and remanded sub nom. Joseph Skilken & Co. v. City of Toledo, 429 U.S. 1068, 97 S.Ct. 800, 50 L.Ed.2d 786 (1977) (reconsideration directed in light of Arlington Heights and Hills v. Gautreaux, 425 U.S. 284, 96 S.Ct. 1538, 47 L.Ed.2d 792 [1976]), reinstated 558 F.2d 350 (6th Cir. 1977), cert, denied, 434 U.S. 985, 98 S.Ct. 611, 54 L.Ed.2d 479 (1978); Lerner v. Town of Islip, 272 F.Supp. 664, 665 (E.D.N.Y. 1967); City of Miami Beach v. Weiss, 217 So.2d 836, 837-38 (Fla.1969). To the extent that these cases support the intervenors’ position, they are not in accord with the applicable law. Even 'though local authorities have the primary responsibility for dealing with local matters, if local authorities fail in their affirmative obligations under federal law, judicial authority may be invoked. See Milliken v. Bradley, 433 U.S. 267, 280-81, 97 S.Ct. 2749, 53 L.Ed.2d 745 (1977) (Milliken II) (citing Brown v. Board of Education, 349 U.S. 294, 299, 75 S.Ct. 753, 99 L.Ed. 1083 [1955] [Brown II]). Furthermore, “[s]tate and federal courts deciding exclusionary zoning cases normally have the authority to grant site-specific relief.” Developments in the Law-Zoning, 91 Harv.L.Rev. 1427, 1695 (1978). See Mytelka and Mytelka, Exclusionary Zoning: A Consideration of Remedies, 7 Seton Hall.L.Rev. 1, 26-29 (1975). Cf. Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer, 427 U.S. 445, 455, 96 S.Ct. 2666, 49 L.Ed.2d 614 (1976) (congressional power to interfere with state spheres of authority is very broad when acting pursuant to the Civil War Amendments); Caswell v. Califano, 583 F.2d 9, 16 (1st Cir. 1978) (“no violence to the principal of separation of powers arises from judicial efforts to enforce a congressional mandate”). The court therefore concludes that if its power has been properly invoked in this case, it can order site-specific affirmative relief, based on the statutory violation alleged in the complaint. C. The Relief Granted Is Not Beyond the Scope of the Complaint. 1. The relief included in the consent decree must be limited to that which could be justified by a proper complaint. The intervenors have argued that the court cannot order the relief envisioned by the consent decree because it is totally unrelated to the allegations of the complaint. Under the consent decree, Lincoln Green would be built at a site that has not previously been connected to this litigation. Arlington Heights has never refused to exercise its powers to annex and rezone this alternate site, and it is difficult to accuse it of following an actionable exclusionary zoning policy toward this particular property. Absent such an allegation, the intervenors say there is no basis for approving any judicial relief that would affect the property. Cf. Sager, supra note 12, at 1399 & n.91 (relief in housing discrimination cases after Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 [1975], must generally be limited to the specific parcel involved). The court has been unable to find any reported cases that explicitly deal with this question. There is language in some opinions, however, that supports the intervenors’ arguments. For example, in rebutting the contention that a statutory violation must be proven or admitted before a consent decree can be entered, the Supreme Court in Swift & Co. v. United States, quoted at pp. 850-851 supra, said that “[t]he allegations of the bill not specifically denied may have afforded ample basis for a decree . . . .” 276 U.S. 311, 327, 48 S.Ct. 311, 315, 72 L.Ed. 587 (1928). The implication can be drawn that if there are no allegations to support the relief, there can be no consent decree. Similar arguments can be made from dicta in other cases. See, e. g., SEC v. Thermodynamics, Inc., 319 F.Supp. 1380, 1382 (D.Col.1970) (“a consent decree, within the purview of the pleadings and the scope of the issues, is valid and binding upon all parties consenting”) (emphasis added) (quoting Curry v. Curry, 65 App.D.C. 47, 48, 79 F.2d 172, 173 [1935]). Against the cases cited above, the court must consider a second line of cases. These emphasize the broad powers of the federal courts in enforcing settlement decrees. See, e. g., Meetings & Expositions, Inc. v. Tandy Corp., 490 F.2d 714, 717 (2d Cir. 1974); D. H. Overmyer Co. v. Loflin, 440 F.2d 1213, 1215 (5th Cir.), cert, denied, 404 U.S. 851, 92 S.Ct. 87, 30 L.Ed.2d 90 (1971); Kelly v. Greer, 365 F.2d 669 (3d Cir. 1966), cert, denied, 385 U.S. 1035, 87 S.Ct. 772, 17 L.Ed.2d 682 (1967); Cummins Diesel Michigan, Inc. v. The Falcon, 305 F.2d 721, 723 (7th Cir. 1962). Indeed, many cases hold that a federal court can enforce a broken settlement agreement even though there is no longer any direct federal ground for relief and the action would otherwise be considered one for breach of the settlement contract. See Aro Corp. v. Allied Witan Co., 531 F.2d 1368 (6th Cir. 1976), cert, denied, 429 U.S. 862, 97 S.Ct. 165, 50 L.Ed.2d 140 (1976); McGoff v. Rapone, 78 F.R.D. 8, 23 (E.D.Pa.1978); Sidewinder Marine, Inc. v. Nescher, 440 F.Supp. 680, 682 (N.D.Cal.1976). But see Fairfax Countywide Citizens Association v. County of Fairfax, 571 F.2d 1299 (4th Cir.), cert, denied, - U.S. -, 99 S.Ct. 722, 58 L.Ed.2d 706 (1978) (court had neither inherent power nor derivative jurisdiction over breach of settlement agreement) (settlement agreement not part of original order dismissing case). The court finds neither of these lines of cases completely controlling. Instead, it looks for guidance to Milliken v. Bradley, 418 U.S. 717, 94 S.Ct. 3112, 41 L.Ed.2d 1069 (1974) (Milliken I), discussed above, and Milliken v. Bradley, 433 U.S. 267, 97 S.Ct. 2749, 53 L.Ed.2d 745 (1977) (Milliken II). The general equitable principles outlined in those cases indicate that a federal court’s powers cannot be invoked without some violation of the constitution or a statute being admitted or proven, unless the parties have consented to the issuing of the decree. The parties’ consent to the decree cannot, however, allow the court to order relief which it would not otherwise have the power to order and which the parties could not themselves otherwise contract to perform. Such a result would exceed the equitable limitations of Milliken I and would enable the parties to collusively expand the jurisdiction and power of the federal courts, in contravention of the rule that federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, see generally, e. g., P. Bator, P. Mishkin, D. Shapiro & H. Wechsler, Hart & Wechsler’s The Federal Courts and the Federal System 64-241, 309-417 (2d ed. 1973). Thus, the court holds that it cannot enter a consent decree which orders the performance of actions that the parties could not otherwise contract to perform unless the relief ordered could be granted if the plaintiff prevailed in the lawsuit. 2. Failure to amend the complaint is not dispositive. It is clear that the court could not order the relief included in the consent decree solely on the basis of plaintiffs’ current complaint, even if the plaintiffs were to prevail at a full trial of the remaining issues. The plaintiffs’ present complaint does not mention the alternate site for Lincoln Green contemplated in the consent decree. It does not present a case for relief at that site. This does not by itself, however, bar the entry of the consent decree. After the remand of this case from the court of appeals, the plaintiffs’ first step was to negotiate a settlement of this lawsuit with Arlington Heights. It would have been perfectly proper for the plaintiff, prior to the motion to approve the consent decree, to have filed an amended complaint. The prior decisions of this case by the Supreme Court and the Seventh Circuit would not have prevented the filing of an amended complaint, with leave of this court, see Rule 15(a), Fed.R.Civ.P., as to all issues that remained open. See, e. g., Rogers v. Hill, 289 U.S. 582, 587-88, 53 S.Ct. 731, 77 L.Ed. 1385 (1933); R.E.B. Inc. v. Ralston Purina Co., 525 F.2d 749, 751 (10th Cir. 1975); Western Urn Manufacturing Co. v. American Pipe and Steel Corp., 113 U.S.App.D.C. 378, 383-84, 308 F.2d 333, 338-39 (1962); 3 Moore’s Federal Practice ¶ 15.11, at 15-150 to 15-151 (2d ed.). It might have been a wiser course of action if the plaintiffs had filed an amended complaint requesting the relief included in the settlement before asking for the approval of the consent decree. The court would be emphasizing the barest technicality, however, if it refused to adopt the decree at this time because an amended complaint was not filed. Cf. Rule 15(b), Fed.R.Civ.P. (liberal provisions for amendment of pleadings to conform to the evidence, even after judgment). If the plaintiffs could have amended their pleadings and obtained the relief granted by the consent decree after a trial of the merits, the court will not allow their failure to amend to prevent a fair resolution of the case and the entry of the decree. 3. If the plaintiffs had prevailed at trial, the court could have granted the specific relief included in the consent decree. If the plaintiffs amended their complaint to include the events that have occurred in the last seven years and to request the relief granted in the consent decree, the court could have granted that relief, assuming the plaintiff prevailed at trial. In reaching this conclusion, the court holds that the general principles of equitable jurisprudence would allow the contemplated substituted remedy in this case. The law of equitable remedies was recently restated in Milliken II, 433 U.S. 267, 280, 97 S.Ct. 2749, 53 L.Ed.2d 745 (1977). There, the Supreme Court found that the application of equitable principles requires federal courts to focus upon three factors. In the first place, . the nature of the . . . remedy is to be determined by the nature and scope of the constitutional violation. Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, 402 U.S. [1], at 16 [91 S.Ct. 1267, at 1276, 28 L.Ed.2d 554 (1971)]. The remedy must therefore be related to “the condition alleged to offend the Constitution . . . .” Milliken I, 418 U.S., at 738 [94 S.Ct., at 3124]. Second, the decree must indeed be remedial in nature, that is, it must be designed as nearly as possible “to restore the victims of discriminatory conduct to the position they would have occupied in the absence of such conduct.” Id., at 746 [94 S.Ct., at 3128], Third, the federal courts in devising a remedy must take into account the interests of state and local authorities in managing their own affairs, consistent with the Constitution. In Brown II the Court squarely held that “[s]chool authorities have the primary responsibility for elucidating, assessing, and solving these problems . . . .” 349 U.S., at 299 [75 S.Ct., at 756]. (Emphasis supplied). If, however, “school authorities fail in their affirmative obligations . . . judicial authority may be invoked.” Swann, supra [402 U.S.], at 15 [91 S.Ct., at 1276]. Once invoked, “the scope of a district court’s equitable powers to remedy past wrongs is broad, for breadth and flexibility are inherent in equitable remedies.” Ibid. The well-séttled principle that the nature and scope of the remedy are to be determined by the violation means simply that federal-court decrees must directly address and relate to the constitutional violation itself. Because of this inherent limitation upon federal judicial authority, federal-court decrees exceed appropriate limits if they are aimed at eliminating a condition that does not violate the Constitution or does not flow from such a violation, see Pasadena Bd. of Education v. Spangler, [427 U.S. 424, 96 S.Ct. 2697, 49 L.Ed.2d 599] (1976), or if they are imposed upon governmental units that were neither involved in nor affected by the constitutional violation, as in Milliken I, supra. Hills v. Gautreaux, 425 U.S. 284, 292-96 [96 S.Ct. 1538, 1543-1545, 47 L.Ed.2d 792] (1976). But where, as here, a constitutional violation has been found, the remedy does not “exceed” the violation if the remedy is tailored to cure the “condition that offends the Constitution.” Milliken I, supra [418 U.S.], at 738 [94 S.Ct., at 3124]. (Emphasis supplied). 433 U.S. at 280-82, 97 S.Ct. at 2757-2758. Applying the three-part test of Milliken II in the light of established equitable rules, this court finds that it could have granted the relief included in the consent decree if the plaintiffs had prevailed at trial. The first part of the Milliken II test requires the court to determine whether the proposed annexation and rezoning “exceeds” the scope of the statutory violation; that is, whether “the remedy is tailored to cure the ‘condition that offends the . . . [statute],’ ” 433 U.S. at 282, 97 S.Ct. at 2758. In its remand opinion, the Seventh Circuit defined the actions of Arlington Heights that violated the statute when it stated its holding: “We hold that, if there is no land other than plaintiffs’ property within Arlington Heights which is both properly zoned and suitable for federally subsidized low-cost housing, the Village’s refusal to rezone constituted a violation . . . .” 558 F.2d'at 1294. Thus, assuming that the defendants could not show that any other land existed that was suitable for the project, the absence of suitable land would be an essential part of demonstrating a violation. The annexation and rezoning of the alternate site would therefore cure the condition that offends the Fair Housing Act by showing that the plaintiffs were not “effectively precluded . from constructing low-cost housing within Arlington Heights . . . .” 558 F.2d at 1295. The Village’s refusal to rezone the St. Viator site would then become immune from liability. Under these circumstances, the annexation and rezoning are an appropriate remedy tailored to cure the condition offending the statute. The second requirement of the Milliken II test is that the decree “indeed be remedial in nature, that is, it must be designed as nearly as possible ‘to restore the victims of discriminatory conduct to the position they would have occupied in the absence of such conduct.’ ” 433 U.S. at 280, 97 S.Ct. at 2757 (citing Milliken I, 418 U.S. at 746, 94 S.Ct. 3112). The victims of discriminatory conduct, MHDC and the prospective tenants of Lincoln Green, wanted to build the Lincoln Green project in Arlington Heights. There is no indication that the specific location of the project within the Village mattered. Furthermore, in the last seven years, the considerable changes in the housing market and in applicable economic, political, and social conditions have apparently convinced the plaintiffs that the alternate site would be a better location for the project. The relief ordered by the consent decree would, to the greatest extent possible at this time, eventually put the plaintiffs in the position they would have occupied if the assertedly illegal action had not occurred. Finally, Milliken II requires that the court consider the interests of Arlington Heights in managing its own affairs. As has already been discussed, see pp. 852-853 supra, the court would have the power after a trial to order the annexation and rezoning of the alternate site. Since the Village of Arlington Heights has agreed to these steps as part of the consent decree, the court finds that the remedy is non-intrusive and that this Milliken II requirement has been fully served. Thus, assuming that the plaintiffs could demonstrate that the building of Lincoln Green at the alternate site would be the best way of erasing the effects of the allegedly illegal actions of the Village of Arlington Heights, Milliken I and Milliken II would not prevent the entry of the requested decree. Furthermore, the court finds that the annexation and rezoning of the alternate site are entirely in accord with the traditional flexibility and scope of equitable remedies. As the Supreme Court said in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, 402 U.S. 1, 15, 91 S.Ct. 1267, 1276, 28 L.Ed.2d 554 (1971): Once a right and a violation have been shown, the scope of a district court’s equitable powers to remedy past wrongs is broad, for breadth and flexibility are inherent in equitable remedies. “The essence of equity jurisdiction has been the power of the Chancellor to do equity and to mould each decree to the necessities of the particular case. Flexibility rather than rigidity has distinguished it. The qualities of mercy and practicality have made equity the instrument for nice adjustment and reconciliation between the public interest and private needs as well as between competing private claims.” Hecht Co. v. Bowles, 321 U.S. 321, 329-30 [64 S.Ct. 587, 592, 88 L.Ed. 754] (1944). The annexation and rezoning are also supported by the equitable doctrine that the existence of a statutory right normally implies the existence of all necessary and appropriate remedies, Sullivan v. Little Hunting Park, Inc., 396 U.S. 229, 239, 90 S.Ct. 400, 24 L.Ed.2d 386 (1969); Bell v. Hood, 327 U.S. 678, 684, 66 S.Ct. 773, 90 L.Ed. 939 (1946); Collin v. O’Malley, 452 F.Supp. 577, 579 (N.D.Ill.1978), and by the rule that courts of equity will go further in granting relief when acting in furtherance of the public interest and/or a congressionally mandated policy, United States v. First National City Bank, 379 U.S. 378, 383, 85 S.Ct. 528, 13 L.Ed.2d 365 (1965). As discussed above, Congress has established a statutory right to open housing, and has made the achievement of that right a national policy. See p. 845, supra. Thus, annexation and rezoning are particularly appropriate here. In entering this consent decree, the court is not providing the plaintiffs with greater relief than they could have obtained if they had prevailed at trial. IV. THE PROCEDURES FOLLOWED ARE VALID. A. Procedural Due Process Guarantees Have Been Met. Arlington Heights did not follow normal annexation and zoning procedures in this case. See note 6 supra. Instead, it entered into negotiations for the consent decree, informing the court on June 22, 1978, that it had tentatively agreed to the entry of the decree. After Mount Prospect moved to intervene on June 30, 1978, Arlington Heights scheduled an open meeting for July 5. At that meeting, the Board of Trustees received public comment on the proposed decree. The board heard the comments, then approved the consent agreement. The intervenors claim that this abrogation of normal procedures abridged their rights to procedural due process. They claim the one hearing the Village actually held was an inadequate substitute for those procedures. The original parties respond that the intervenors’ rights were fully honored by the Village and by this court. 1. The intervenors are entitled to some procedural due process protection. “The fundamental requisite of due process of law is the opportunity to be heard.” Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306, 314, 70 S.Ct. 652, 657, 94 L.Ed. 865 (1950) (quoting Grannis v. Ordean, 234 U.S. 385, 394, 34 S.Ct. 779, 58 L.Ed. 1363 [1914]). Over the years, courts have developed various procedural requirements to guarantee that this right is effectuated. The procedural requirements themselves are relatively clear; where individual rights to procedural due process are implicated by zoning actions they normally include the right to notice and a hearing, and the right to an impartial decision-maker which renders its decision with reference to articulable standards. But the courts have not as yet provided any systematic analysis of the circumstances in which these procedural requirements are applicable to zoning actions. Developments in the Law—Zoning, 91 Harv.L.Rev. 1427, 1501-02 (1978) [hereinafter cited as Developments]. The starting point for analyzing whether procedural due process rights apply is determining whether the intervenors had a sufficient property interest under Illinois law to give rise to federal due process protection. See Leis v. Flynt, -U.S. -, -, 99 S.Ct. 698, 700, 58 L.Ed.2d 717 (1979); Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 577, 92 S.Ct. 2701, 33 L.Ed.2d 548 (1972). Under the circumstances of this case, the resolution of that question turns on whether the challenged decision was “administrative” or “legislative.” Normally, procedural due process rights are only applied to administrative decisions. See, e. g., Pickus v. United States Board of Parole, 177 U.S.App.D.C. 93, 97, 543 F.2d 240, 244 (1976); Developments, 91 Harv.L.Rev. at 1503, 1508-09. It is very difficult in zoning decisions, however, to decide which actions are legislative and which are administrative. Developments, 91 Harv.L. Rev. at 1508; see Ward v. Village of Skokie, 26 Ill.2d 415, 424-25, 186 N.E.2d 529, 533 (1962) (Klingbiel, J., concurring in the judgment). In the past, courts have used several tests in attempting to distinguish administrative and legislative zoning decisions. Some courts have looked merely to the nature of the decisionmaking body, and have found that if elective bodies such as city councils act, their acts are necessarily legislative. Others base their classification on the nature of the decision made, calling the adoption of a comprehensive plan legislative, but the granting of a variance administrative. Still others have attempted to distinguish the creation of general policy from the application of preexisting policy to particular cases. Developments, 91 Harv.L. Rev. at 1509. The Illinois courts have repeatedly referred to zoning, see, e. g., LaSalle Na tional Bank v. City of Evanston, 57 Ill.2d 415, 428, 312 N.E.2d 625, 632 (1974), and annexation, see Citizens for a Better Bloomingdale v. Village of Bloomingdale, 37 Ill.App.3d 583, 586, 346 N.E.2d 5, 7 (2d Dist. 1976); New-Mark Builders, Inc. v. City of Aurora, 90 Ill.App.2d 98, 101, 233 N.E.2d 44, 46 (2d Dist. 1968), as legislative acts. Furthermo